Ubc  IRural  Science  Series 

Edited  by  L.  H.  BAILEY 


DRY-FARMING 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


5  Y 


Reproduced  from  Journal  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  Volume  2,  3rd  series,  1891 ;  and  there  reproduced 
from  a  painting  In  the  possession  of  Mr.  Martin  J.  Sutton. 

JETHRO  TULL. 

Born  1674;  died  1741.     His  methods  of  soil  tillage  lie  at  the  foundation  of  the 
modern  system  of  dry-farming. 


DRY-FARMING 

A  SYSTEM  OF  AGRICULTURE 


FOR 


COUNTRIES  UNDER  A  LOW  RAINFALL 


BY 


JOHN   A.    WIDTSOE,  A.M.,  Ph.D. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 
OF  UTAH 


Nefo  jgork 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1919 

All  rights  reserved 


120081 


Copyright,  1911, 
xir   THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  January,  1911.     Reprinted 
September,  1911  ;   January,  1912  ;   April,  1^2  ;   February, 
December,  191  3  ;    May,  1916. 


Sorrjoooti  ^rtss 

J.  B.  Cushing  Co.  —  Berwick  A:  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Ma?;.,  U.S.A. 


TO 

LEAH 

THIS  BOOK  IS  INSCRIBED 
JUNE  1,  1910 


tyV 


PREFACE 


Nearly  six  tenths  of  the  earth's  land  surface 
receive  an    annual   rainfall   of   less    than   twenty 
^     inches,  and  can  be  reclaimed .  for  agricultural  pur- 
^     poses  only  by  irrigation  and  dry-farming.     A  per- 
>     fected  world-system  of  irrigation  will  convert  about 
^\h   one  tenth  of  this  vast  area  into  an  incomparably 
fruitful    garden,    leaving    about    one  half  of    the 
earth's  land  surface  to  be  reclaimed,  if  at  all,  by 
the  methods  of   dry-farming.     The  noble   system 
^|      of  modern  agriculture  has  been  constructed  almost 
^     wholly  in  countries  of  abundant  rainfall,  and  its 
applications  are  those  demanded  for  the  agricul- 
tural development  of   humid  regions.      Until   re- 
,     cently,  irrigation  was  given  scant  attention,  and 
^    dry-farming,  with  its  world  problem  of  conquering 
^    one  half  of  the  earth,  was  not  considered.     These 
facts  furnish  the  apology  for  the  writing  of  this 
book. 

One  volume,  only,  in  this  world  of  many  books, 
and  that  less  than  a  year  old,  is  devoted  to  the 
exposition  of  the  accepted  dry-farm  practices  of 
to-day. 


vu 


Viii  PREFACE 

The  book  now  offered  is  the  first  attempt  to 
assemble  and  organize  the  known  facts  of  science 
in  their  relation  to  the  profitable  production  of 
plants,  without  irrigation,  in  regions  of  limited 
rainfall.  The  needs  of  the  actual  farmer,  who 
must  understand  the  principles  before  his  practices 
can  be  wholly  satisfactory,  have  been  kept  in  view 
primarily ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  enlarging  group 
of  dry-farm  investigators  will  also  be  helped  by 
this  presentation  of  the  principles  of  dry-farming. 
The  subject  is  now  growing  so  rapidly  that  there 
will  soon  be  room  for  two  classes  of  treatment: 
one  for  the  farmer,  and  one  for  the  technical 
student. 

This  book  has  been  written  far  from  large 
libraries,  and  the  material  has  been  drawn  from 
the  available  sources.  Specific  references  are  not 
given  in  the  text,  but  the  names  of  investigators 
or  institutions  are  found  with  nearly  all  state- 
ments of  fact.  The  files  of  the  Experiment  Station 
Eecord  and  Der  Jahresbericht  der  Agrikultur 
Chemie  have  taken  the  place  of  the  more  desirable 
original  publications.  Free  use  has  been  made 
of  the  publications  of  the  experiment  stations  and 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Inspiration  and  suggestions  have  been  sought  and 
found  constantly  in  the  works  of  the  princes  of 
American  soil  investigation,  Hilgard  of  California 


PREFACE  IX 


and  King  of  Wisconsin.  I  am  under  deep  obliga- 
tion, for  assistance  rendered,  to  numerous  friends 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  especially  to  Professor 
L.  A.  Merrill,  with  whom  I  have  collaborated  for 
many  years  in  the  study  of  the  possibilities  of 
dry-farming  in  Western  America. 

The  possibilities  of  dry-farming  are  stupendous. 
In  the  strength  of  youth  we  may  have  felt  envi- 
ous of  the  great  ones  of  old ;  of  Columbus  looking 
upon  the  shadow  of  the  greatest  continent;  of 
Balboa  shouting  greetings  to  the  resting  Pacific; 
of  Father  Escalante,  pondering  upon  the  mystery 
of  the  world,  alone,  near  the  shores  of  America's 
Dead  Sea.  We  need  harbor  no  such  envyings,  for 
in  the  conquest  of  the  nonirrigated  and  nonirriga- 
ble  desert  are  offered  as  fine  opportunities  as  the 
world  has  known  to  the  makers  and  shakers  of 
empires.  We  stand  before  an  undiscovered  land ; 
through  the  restless,  ascending  currents  of  heated 
desert  air  the  vision  comes  and  goes.  With  striv- 
ing eyes  the  desert  is  seen  covered  with  blossoming 
fields,  with  churches  and  homes  and  schools,  and, 
in  the  distance,  with  the  vision  is  heard  the 
laughter  of  happy  children. 

The  desert  will  be  conquered. 

JOHN  A.   WIDTSOE. 
June  1,  1910. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface vii 


List  of  Illustrations 


xix 


CHAPTER   I 


Introduction  —  Dry-farming  Defined 1-10 

Dry-  vs.  Hum  id-farming 4 

The  Problems  of  Dry-farming 6 

CHAPTER   II 

The  Theoretical  Basis  of  Dry-farming  .         .         .  11-21 

Water  required  for  One  Pound  of  Dry  Matter       .        .         .12 
Crop-producing  Power  of  Rainfall 18 

CHAPTER   III 
Dry- farm  Areas  —  Rainfall 22-34 

Arid,  Semiarid,  and  Sub-humid 24 

Precipitation  of  the  Dry-farm  Territory  of  the  United  States  25 

Area  of  the  Dry -farm  Territory  of  the  United  States     .        .  26 

Dry-farm  Area  of  the  World 32 

CHAPTER   IV 
Dry-farm  Areas  —  General  Climatic  Features    .         .  35-49 

Seasonal  Distribution  of  Rainfall 38 

Snowfall 42 

xi 


Xll  CONTENTS 

PAGB 

Temperature 42 

Relative  Humidity 45 

Sunshine 46 

Winds .47 

Summary  of  Features 48 

Drouth 49 


CHAPTER  V 

Dry-farm  Soils 60-80 

The  Formation  of  Soils  ........      51 

Physical  Agencies 

Chemical  Agencies 
Characteristics  of  Arid  Soils 56 

Clay 

Sand 

Humus 

Soil  and  Subsoil 

Hardpan 

Leaching 

Alkali  Soils 

Plant-food  Content 

Summary  of  Characteristics 
Soil  Divisions 74 

Great  Plains  District 

Columbia  River  District 

Great  Basin  District 

Colorado  River  District 

California  District 
The  Judging  of  Soils 78 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  RooT-gYSTBMfl  of  Plants 81-03 

Functions  of  Roots SI 

Kinds  of  Roots 82 


CONTENTS  Xlll 

PAGE 

Extent  of  Roots 84 

Depth  of  Root  Penetration 86 


CHAPTER  Vn 
Storing  Water  in  the  Soil 94-129 

Alway's  Demonstration         .......      95 

What  becomes  of  the  Rainfall  ? 97 

The  Run-off 98 

The  Structure  of  Soils 99 

Pore-space  of  Soils 101 

Hygroscopic  Soil-water 102 

Gravitational  Water 104 

Capillary  Soil-water 10G 

Field  Capacity  of  Soils  for  Capillary  Water  .         .         .        .107 

Downward  Movement  of  Soil-moisture Ill 

Importance  of  a  Moist  Subsoil        .         .         .         .        .         .110 

To  what  extent  is  the  Rainfall  stored  in  Soils  ?     .         .         .119 

The  Fallow 122 

Deep  Plowing  for  Water  Storage 125 

Fall  Plowing  for  Water  Storage 120 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Regulating  the  Evaporation 130-104 

The  Formation  of  Water  Vapor 132 

Conditions  of  Evaporation  from  Soils 136 

Loss  by  Evaporation  chiefly  at  the  Surface  ....  139 
How  Soil- water  reaches  the  Surface  .  .  .  .  .141 
The  Effect  of  Rapid  Top-drying  of  Soils        .        .         .        .147 

The  Effect  of  Shading 150 

The  Effect  of  Tillage 152 

Depth  of  Cultivation 157 

When  to  Cultivate  or  Till 158 


XIV                                               COI 

sTK> 

ITS 

CHAPTER  IX 

PAGB 

Kh'.rLATiNG  the  Transpiration 165-192 

How  Water  leaves  the  Soil     . 

.     166 

Absorption 

106 

Movement  of  Water  through  the  Plant 

170 

The  Work  of  Leaves      .... 

171 

Transpiration 

174 

Conditions  influencing  Transpiration     . 

175 

Plant-food  and  Transpiration 

180 

Transpiration  for  a  Pound  of  Dry  Matter 

182 

Methods  of  controlling  Transpiration     . 

186 

CHAPTER    X 

Plowing  and  Fallowing 193-204 

CHAPTER   XI 

Sowing  ajto  Harvesting 205-230 

Conditions  of  Germination 

.     906 

Time  to  Sow  . 

.    212 

Depth  of  Seeding   . 

.     220 

Quantity  to  Sow     . 

.     222 

Method  of  Sowing  . 

.     225 

The  Care  of  the  Crop     . 

.     226 

Harvesting     . 

. 

228 

CHAPTER   Xn 

Crops  for  Pry-fa  rmixg 232-266 

Importance  of  Right  Crops 232 

Wheat 

Other  Small  Grains 241 

( hits 
Barley 
Rye 
E  miner 


CONTENTS 


XV 


PAGE 

Corn 243 

Sorghums 244 

Lucern  or  Alfalfa 247 

Other  Leguminous  Crops 249 

Trees  and  Shrubs 251 

Potatoes 254 

Miscellaneous 254 


CHAPTER   XIII 

The  Composition  of  Dry-farm  Crops 
Proportion  of  Parts  of  Dry-farm  Plants 
The  Water  in  Dry -farm  Crops 
The  Nutritive  Substances  in  Crops 
Variations  in  Composition  due  to  Water-supply 
Climate  and  Composition        .... 
A  Reason  for  Variation  in  Composition 
Nutritive  Value  of  Dry-farm  Straw,  Hay,  and  Flour 
Future  Needs 


257-279 

.  258 

.  262 

.  264 

.  267 

.  271 

.  274 

.  275 

.  277 


CHAPTER   XIV 

Maintaining  the  Soil-fertility 

The  Persistent  Fertility  of  Dry-farms     . 
Reasons  for  Dry-farming  Fertility 
Methods  of  Conserving  Soil-fertility 


280-300 
.  283 
.  286 
.     292 


CHAPTER   XV 

Implements  for  Dry-farming    ......      301-327 

Clearing  and  Breaking 302 

Plowing 305 

Making  and  Maintaining  a  Soil  Mulch 310 

Subsurface  Packing 316 

Sowing 317 

Harvesting 320 

Steam  and  Other  Motive  Power 321 


XVI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XVI 

PAGE 

Irrigation  and  Dry-farming 328-350 

The  Scarcity  of  Water 331 

Available  Surface  Water 333 

Available  Subterranean  Water 338 

Pumping  Water 341 

Use  of  Small  Quantities  of  Water  in  Irrigation      .        .        .  344 

CHAPTER   XVII 

The  History  of  Dry-farming 351-381 

Origin  of  Modern  Dry-farming  in  the  United  States      .        .  354 

Utah 

California 

The  Columbia  Basin 

Great  Plains  Area 

Uniformity  of  Methods 

H.  W.  Campbell 301 

The  Experiment  Stations 365 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture        .        .        .  372 

The  Dry-farming  Congress 374 

JethroTull 378 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Present  Status  of  Dry-farming      ....      382-398 

California 382 

The  Columbia  River  Basin 384 

The  Great  Basin 386 

Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  River  Basins          ....  388 

The  Mountain  States 389 

The  Great  Plains  Area 389 

Canada 391 

Mexico 391 

Brazil 392 

Australia •        •        •  393 


CONTENTS 


XV11 


PAGE 

Africa 393 

Russia 894 

Turkey  .  300 

Palestine 307 

China 307 


CHAPTER   XIX 


The  Year  of  Drouth 


Record  of  the  Barnes  Farm,  1887-1006  . 
Record  of  the  Indian  Head  Farm,  1801-1909 
Record  of  the  Motherwell  Farm,  1801-1000  . 
The  Utah  Drouth  of  1010       . 


300-412 

.  403 

.  406 

.  410 

.  411 


CHAPTER  XX 
Dry-farming  in  a  Nutshell 


413-416 


APPENDIX   A 
A  Partial  Bibliography  of   Publications   on  Dry-farming    417 


APPENDIX  B 
Text  of  the  Smoot-Mondell  Bill  . 

INDEX         


425 
429 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


30 


the  United 


Jethro  Tull Frontispiece 

NO. 

1.  Utah  sagebrush  land       .... 

2.  Native  sod  of  Rocky  Mountain  foothills 

3.  New  Mexico  dry-1'arm  lands  . 

4.  Land  above  the  canal     .... 

5.  Weighing  pots  in  transpiration  experiments 

6.  Plant  house  for  transpiration  experiments 

7.  The  quantity  of  water  required  for  the  production  of  dry 

matter 

8.  The  rolling  hills  of  the  Palouse  wheat  district 

9.  Rainfall  chart  for  the  United  States 

10.  Sagebrush  under  ten  inches  rainfall 

11.  Sagebrush  under  fifteen  inches  rainfall . 

12.  Rainfall  chart  for  the  world  .... 

13.  Physical  features  of  the  dry-farm  territory  of 

States      

14.  Chart  showing  the  distribution  of  rainfall  in  the  w 

United  States 

15.  Sagebrush  land  covered  with  snow 

16.  Sunshine  in  Canada  and  the  United  States    . 

17.  Soil  structure 

18.  Difference  between  humid  and  arid  soils 

19.  Deep  soil,  suitable  for  dry-farming 

20.  Gravelly  soil,  not  adapted  for  dry-farming     . 

21.  Soil  augers 

22.  Wheat  roots 

23.  Alfalfa  roots 

24.  Sugar-beet  roots 

25.  Corn  roots 

26.  Root  systems  under  humid  and  arid  conditions 

xix 


estern 


PAGE 

2 
3 
6 
9 
13 
15 

18 
19 
23 
25 
27 
31 


37 

41 
43 
47 
56 
63 
67 
72 
79 
82 
83 
87 
89 
91 


XX  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

>•<>.  PAGB 

27.  Al way's  experiment,  showing  relation  between  crop  and  soil- 

moisture  96 

28.  Water  in  small  tubes 104 

29.  How  rainwater  is  changed  to  capillary  soil-water  .        .         .110 

30.  Soil-water  in  fall  and  in  spring 115 

31.  Kubanka  wheat  field  in  Montana 117 

32.  Annual  rainfall  and  evaporation  compared    ....  131 

33.  Checked  land 142 

34.  Alfalfa  in  cultivated  rows 151 

35.  The  effect  of  cultivation 154 

36.  Flax  in  Montana 156 

37.  Plowing  in  the  Northwest 161 

38.  Root-hairs  and  soil  particles 167 

39.  Penetration  of  root-hairs  through  soil 169 

40.  Wheat  roots  with  soil  particles 171 

41.  Stomata 173 

42.  Photograph  of  stomata 173 

43.  Ideal  tilth  of  soil 181 

44.  Interior  of  olive  orchard  in  Sfax,  Tunis          ....  184 

45.  Winter  wheat  in  Wyoming 189 

40.    Dry-farm  potatoes,  Montana I'-O 

47.  Clean  summer  fallow 196 

48.  Barley  on  land  continuously  cropped 199 

49.  Barley  on  summer  fallowed  land 201 

50.  Combined  harvester  and  thresher,  Montana  .         .        .         .  211 

51.  Header  at  work,  Washington 213 

52.  Cultivating  oats  with  weeder,  Wyoming        ....  219 

53.  Header  at  work 229 

54.  Oat  field,  Utah 231 

66.    Winter  wheat  and  alfalfa,  Wyoming 235 

56.  Turkey  wheat  field,  Montana 239 

57.  Barley  field,  Nevada 2tii 

58    Corn  field,  New  Mexico 24*5 

59.  Oat  field,  Montana 250 

60.  Ears  of  corn,  Montana 255 

61.  Heads  of  macaroni  wheat 259 

62.  Heads  of  hard  winter  wheats 265 

63.  Milo  maize  field,  Montana 266 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  Xxi 

NO.  PAGE 

64.  Brome  grass  field,  Montana 270 

65.  Fall  rye  field,  Montana 274 

66.  Oat  field,  New  Mexico 278 

67.  Dry-farm  orchard,  Utah 281 

68.  Barley  field,  Montana 285 

69.  Barley  field,  Utah 289 

70.  Barley  field,  New  Mexico 294 

71.  Corn  field,  Montana 299 

72.  Steam  plowing 303 

73  Parts  of  modern  plow 305 

74.  Sulky  plow 306 

75.  Plow  bottoms 307 

76.  Plow  with  interchangeable  moldboard  and  share         .        .  307 

77.  Disk  plow 308 

78.  Subsoil  plow 309 

79.  Spike-tooth  harrow 310 

80.  Spring-tooth  harrow 311 

81.  Disk  harrow 312 

82.  Riding  cultivator 314 

83.  Subsurface  packer 316 

84.  Disk  drill  and  seeder .  318 

85.  Disk  drill  with  press  wheels 319 

86.  Sulky  lister  for  corn 319 

87.  Utah  dry-farm  weeder 322 

88.  Cultivating  durum  wheat,  Wyoming 324 

89.  Preparing  land  for  dry-farming,  Arizona     ....  326 

90.  Dry-farm  with  flood  reservoir 329 

91.  Dry-farm  homestead,  Montana 331 

92.  Dry-farm  homestead,  Arizona 335 

93.  Some  dry-farm  products,  Montana 339 

94.  Vegetable  garden,  Montana 343 

95.  Windmill  and  storage  tank,  Arizona 349 

96.  Last  of  the  breast  plows 352 

97.  Cache  Valley,  Utah 356 

98.  Automobiles  of  dry-farmers  at  demonstration      .        .         .  361 

99.  Excursionists  to  dry-farm  demonstration,  Utah  .        .        .  367 

100.  Threshing  on  Utah  experimental  dry-farm  .        .        .         .371 

101.  The  land  to  be  reclaimed  in  Montana 375 


XXII  LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

XO.  PAGB 

102.  Threshing  near  Moscow,  Idaho 384 

103.  Dry-farm  scene  in  Nevada 387 

104.  Thirty  thousand  acres  of  dry-farms  in  Utah         .        .        .  390 

105.  Wheat-shipping  point  in  Saskatchewan        ....  395 

106.  Olive  orchards  near  Sfax,  Tunis 396 

107.  Winter  wheat,  Wyoming 401 

108.  Field  of  dry-farm  wheat,  Utah 403 

109.  Carting  macaroni  wheat  to  wharves 407 

110.  View  of  Palouse  wheat  district 409 

111.  Homeward  bound 415 

Many  of  the  above  illustrations  were  secured  through  the  courtesy 
of  F.  H.  King,  V.  T.  Cooke,  William  M.  Jardine,  A.  H.  Atkinson, 
R.  H.  Forbes,  the  Carnegie  Institution,  the  publishers  of  Bailey's 
Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture,  and  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations  of  Montana, 
Nevada,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Nebraska. 


DRY-FARMING 


DRY-FARMING 

CHAPTER  I 

Introduction 
dry-farming  defined 

Dry-farming,  as  at  present  understood,  is  the 
profitable  production  of  useful  crops,  without  irriga- 
tion, on  lands  that  receive  annually  a  rainfall  of 
20  inches  or  less.  In  districts  of  torrential  rains, 
high  winds,  unfavorable  distribution  of  the  rain- 
fall, or  other  water-dissipating  factors,  the  term 
"  dry-farming  "  is  also  properly  applied  to  farming 
without  irrigation  under  an  annual  precipitation  of 
25  or  even  30  inches.  There  is  no  sharp  de- 
markation  between  dry-  and  humid-farming. 

When  the  annual  precipitation  is  under  20 
inches,  the  methods  of  dry-farming  are  usually 
indispensable.  When  it  is  over  30  inches,  the 
methods  of  humid-farming  are  employed;  in  places 
where  the  annual  precipitation  is  between  20  and 
30  inches,  the  methods  to  be  used  depend  chiefly 
on  local  conditions  affecting  the  conservation  of 
soil  moisture.     Dry-farming,   however,   always  im- 

B  1 


DRY-FARMING 


plies  farming  under  a  comparatively  small  annual 
rainfall. 

The  term  "  dry-farming  "  is,  of  course,  a  misnomer. 
In  reality  it  is  farming:  under  drier  conditions  than 


Fig.  1.     Typical  sagebrush  land  in  dry-farm  districts  of  the  Great  Basin. 
Utah,  1902.     Note  the  dry-farms  in  the  distance. 


4  DRY-FARMING 

those  prevailing  in  the  countries  in  which  scientific 
agriculture  originated.  Many  suggestions  for  a 
better  name  have  been  made.  "Scientific  agricul- 
ture" has  been  proposed,  but  all  agriculture  should 
be  scientific,  and  agriculture  without  irrigation  in 
an  arid  country  has  no  right  to  lay  sole  claim  to  so 
general  a  title.  "Dry-land  agriculture,"  which  has 
also  been  suggested,  is  no  improvement  over  "dry- 
farming,  "as  it  is  longer  and  also  carries  with  it  the 
idea  of  dryness.  Instead  of  the  name  "  dry-farming  " 
it  would,  perhaps,  be  better  to  use  the  names,  "  arid- 
farming"  " semiarid-farming, "  "humid-farming, "and 
"irrigation-farming,"  according  to  the  climatic  con- 
ditions prevailing  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  How- 
ever, at  the  present  time  the  name  "  dry-farming  " 
is  in  such  general  use  that  it  would  seem  unwise  to 
suggest  any  change.  It  should  be  used  with  the 
distinct  understanding  that  as  far  as  the  word  "  dry" 
is  concerned  it  is  a  misnomer.  When  the  two  words 
are  hyphenated,  however,  a  compound  technical 
term  —  "dry-farming"  —  is  secured  which  has  a 
meaning  of  its  own,  such  as  we  have  just  defined  it 
to  be;  and  "dry-farming,"  therefore,  becomes  an 
addition  to  the  lexicon. 

Dry-  versus  humid-farming 

Dry-farming,  as  a  distinct  branch  of  agriculture, 
has  for  its  purpose  the  reclamation,  for  the  use  of 
man,  of  the  vast  unirrigable  "desert"  or  "semi- 


PURPOSE    OF   DRY-FARMING  5 

desert "  areas  of  the  world,  which  until  recently  were 
considered  hopelessly  barren.  The  great  underlying 
principles  of  agriculture  are  the  same  the  world  over, 
yet  the  emphasis  to  be  placed  on  the  different  agri- 
cultural theories  and  practices  must  be  shifted  in 
accordance  with  regional  conditions.  The  agricul- 
tural problem  of  first  importance  in  humid  regions 
is  the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility ;  and  since  modern 
agriculture  was  developed  almost  wholly  under 
humid  conditions,  the  system  of  scientific  agricul- 
ture has  for  its  central  idea  the  maintenance  of  soil 
fertility.  In  arid  regions,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
conservation  of  the  natural  water  precipitation  for 
crop  production  is  the  important  problem;  and  a 
new  system  of  agriculture  must  therefore  be  con- 
structed, on  the  basis  of  the  old  principles,  but  with 
the  conservation  of  the  natural  precipitation  as  the 
central  idea.  The  system  of  dry-farming  must 
marshal  and  organize  all  the  established  facts  of 
science  for  the  better  utilization,  in  plant  growth,  of 
a  limited  rainfall.  The  excellent  teachings  of  humid 
agriculture  respecting  the  maintenance  of  soil  fer- 
tility will  be  of  high  value  in  the  development  of 
dry-farming,  and  the  firm  establishment  of  right 
methods  of  conserving  and  using  the  natural  pre- 
cipitation will  undoubtedly  have  a  beneficial  effect 
upon  the  practice  of  humid  agriculture.  Figures  1-4 
show  some  of  the  characteristic  features  of  dry- 
farming  regions. 


0  DRY-FARMING 

The  problems  of  dry-farming 

The  dry-farmer,  at  the  outset,  should  know  with 
comparative  accuracy  the  annual  rainfall  over  the 
area  that  he  intends  to  cultivate.     He  must  also 


m 

l 

if 

i 
H 

I 

,     ; 

4  "**'r    ;« 

\J' 

*$  j 

"W 

> 

v  :",!W/ 

Fig.  3.     Dry-farm    cane    in    New    Mexico.     Note    native    vegetation  in 
foreground. 

have  a  good  acquaintance  with  the  nature  of  the 
soil,  not  only  as  regards  its  plant-food  content,  but 


PROBLEMS   OF   DRY-FARMING  7 

as  to  its  power  to  receive  and  retain  the  water  from 
rain  and  snow.  In  fact,  a  knowledge  of  the  soil  is 
indispensable  in  successful  dry-farming.  Only  by 
such  knowledge  of  the  rainfall  and  the  soil  is  he  able 
to  adapt  the  principles  outlined  in  this  volume  to 
his  special  needs. 

Since,  under  dry-farm  conditions,  water  is  the 
limiting  factor  of  production,  the  primary  problem 
of  dry-farming  is  the  most  effective  storage*  in  the 
soil  of  the  natural  precipitation.  Only  the  water, 
safely  stored  in  the  soil  within  reach  of  the  roots,  can 
be  used  in  crop  production.  Of  nearly  equal  impor- 
tance is  the  problem  of  keeping  the  water  in  the  soil 
until  it  is  needed  by  plants.  During  the  growing 
season,  water  may  be  lost  from  the  soil  by  downward 
drainage  or  by  evaporation  from  the  surface.  It 
becomes  necessary,  therefore,  to  determine  under 
what  conditions  the  natural  precipitation  stored  in 
the  soil  moves  downward  and  by  what  means  surface 
evaporation  may  be  prevented  or  regulated.  The 
soil-water,  of  real  use  to  plants,  is  that  taken  up  by 
the  roots  and  finally  evaporated  from  the  leaves. 
A  large  part  of  the  water  stored  in  the  soil  is  thus 
used.  The  methods  whereby  this  direct  draft  of 
plants  on  the  soil-moisture  may  be  regulated  are, 
naturally,  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  dry- 
farmer,  and  they  constitute  another  vital  problem 
of  the  science  of  dry-farming. 

The  relation  of  crops  to  the  prevailing  conditions 


8  DRY-FARMING 

of  arid  lands  offers  another  group  of  important 
dry-farm  problems.  Some  plants  use  much  less 
water  than  others.  Some  attain  maturity  quickly, 
and  in  that  way  become  desirable  for  dry-farming. 
Still  other  crops,  grown  under  humid  conditions, 
may  easily  be  adapted  to  dry-farming  conditions, 
if  the  correct  methods  are  employed,  and  in  a  few 
seasons  may  be  made  valuable  dry-farm  crops. 
The  individual  characteristics  of  each  crop  should  be 
known  as  they  relate  themselves  to  a  low  rainfall  and 
arid  soils. 

After  a  crop  has  been  chosen,  skill  and  knowledge 
are  needed  in  the  proper  seeding,  tillage,  and  har- 
vesting of  the  crop.  Failures  frequently  result 
from  the  want  of  adapting  the  crop  treatment  to 
arid  conditions. 

After  the  crop  has  been  gathered  and  stored,  its 
proper  use  is  another  problem  for  the  dry-farmer. 
The  composition  of  dry-farm  crops  is  different  from 
that  of  crops  grown  with  an  abundance  of  water. 
Usually,  dry-farm  crops'  are  much  more  nutritious 
and  therefore  should  command  a  higher  price  in  the 
markets,  or  should  be  fed  to  stock  in  corresponding 
proportions  and  combinations. 

The  fundamental  problems  of  dry-farming  are, 
then,  the  storage  in  the  soil  of  a  small  annual  rain- 
fall; the  retention  in  the  soil  of  the  moisture  until 
it  is  needed  by  plants;  the  prevention  of  the  di- 
rect evaporation  of  soil-moisture  during  the  growing 


10  DRY-FARMING 

season ;  the  regulation  of  the  amount  of  water  drawn 
from  the  soil  by  plants ;  the  choice  of  crops  suitable 
for  growth  under  arid  conditions;  the  application 
of  suitable  crop  treatments,  and  the  disposal  of  dry- 
farm  products,  based  upon  the  superior  composition 
of  plants  grown  with  small  amounts  of  water. 
Around  these  fundamental  problems  cluster  a  host 
of  minor,  though  also  important,  problems.  When 
the  methods  of  dry-farming  are  understood  and 
practiced,  the  practice  is  always  successful;  but 
it  requires  more  intelligence,  more  implicit  obedience 
to  nature's  laws,  and  greater  vigilance,  than  farming 
in  countries  of  abundant  rainfall. 

The  chapters  that  follow  will  deal  almost  wholly 
with  the  problems  above  outlined  as  they  present 
themselves  in  the  construction  of  a  rational  system 
of  farming  without  irrigation  in  countries  of  limited 
rainfall. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   THEORETICAL   BASIS   OF   DRY-FARMING 

The  confidence  with  which  scientific  investigators, 
familiar  with  the  arid  regions,  have  attacked  the 
problems  of  dry-farming  rests  largely  on  the  known 
relationship  of  the  water  requirements  of  plants  to 
the  natural  precipitation  of  rain  and  snow.  It  is 
a  most  elementary  fact  of  plant  physiology  that  no 
plant  can  live  and  grow  unless  it  has  at  its  disposal 
a  sufficient  amount  of  water. 

The  water  used  by  plants  is  almost  entirely  taken 
from  the  soil  by  the  minute  root-hairs  radiating 
from  the  roots.  The  water  thus  taken  into  the 
plants  is  passed  upward  through  the  stem  to  the 
leaves,  where  it  is  finally  evaporated.  There  is, 
therefore,  a  more  or  less  constant  stream  of  water 
passing  through  the  plant  from  the  roots  to  the 
leaves. 

By  various  methods  it  is  possible  to  measure  the 
water  thus  taken  from  the  soil.  While  this  process 
of  taking  water  from  the  soil  is  going  on  within  the 
plant,  a  certain  amount  of  soil-moisture  is  also  lost 
by   direct   evaporation   from   the   soil   surface.     In 

11 


12  DRY-FARMING 

dry-farm  sections,  soil-moisture  is  lost  only  by  these 
two  methods;  for  wherever  the  rainfall  is  sufficient 
to  cause  drainage  from  deep  soils,  humid  conditions 
prevail. 

Water  for  one  pound  dry  matter 

Many  experiments  have  been  conducted  to  deter- 
mine the  amount  of  water  used  in  the  production  of 
one  pound  of  dry  plant  substance.  Generally,  the 
method  of  the  experiments  has  been  to  grow  plants 
in  large  pots  containing  weighed  quantities  of  soil. 
As  needed,  weighed  amounts  of  water  were  added 
to  the  pots.  To  determine  the  loss  of  water,  the 
pots  were  weighed  at  regular  intervals  of  three  days 
to  one  week.  At  harvest  time,  the  weight  of  diy 
matter  was  carefully  determined  for  each  pot.  Since 
the  water  lost  by  the  pots  was  also  known,  the  pounds 
of  water  used  for  the  production  of  every  pound  of 
dry  matter  were  readily  calculated  (Figs.  5,  6). 

The  first  reliable  experiments  of  the  kind  were 
undertaken  under  humid  conditions  in  Germany 
and  other  European  countries.  From  the  mass  of 
results,  some  have  been  selected  and  presented  in 
the  following  table.  The  work  was  done  by  the 
famous  German  investigators,  Wollny,  Hellriegel, 
and  Sorauer,  in  the  early  eighties  of  the  last  century. 
In  every  case,  the  numbers  in  the  table  represent 
the  number  of  pounds  of  water  used  for  the  produc- 
tion of  one  pound  of  ripened  dry  substance :  — 


14 


DRY-FARMING 


Pounds  of  Water  for  One  Pound  of  Dry  Matter 


WOLLNY 

Hellriegel 



338 

665 

376 



310 

774 

353 

233 



646 

363 

416 

273 



282 



310 

490 



447 



SORAUEB 


Wheat  . 
Oats  .  . 
Barley 
Rye  .  . 
Cora  .  . 
Buckwheat 
Peas  .  . 
Horsebeans 
Red  clover 
Sunflowers 
Millet 


459 
569 
431 
236 


It  is  clear  from  the  above  results,  obtained  in  Ger- 
many, that  the  amount  of  water  required  to  produce 
a  pound  of  dry  matter  is  not  the  same  for  all  plants, 
nor  is  it  the  same  under  all  conditions  for  the  same 
plant.  In  fact,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  later  chapter, 
the  wTater  requirements  of  any  crop  depend  upon 
numerous  factors,  more  or  less  controllable.  The 
range  of  the  above  German  results  is  from  233  to 
774  pounds,  with  an  average  of  about  419  pounds 
of  water  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter  produced. 

During  the  late  eighties  and  early  nineties,  King 
conducted  experiments  similar  to  the  earlier  German 
experiments,  to  determine  the  water  requirements  of 
crops  under  Wisconsin  conditions.     A  summary  of 


RELATION  OF  WATER  TO  DRY  MATTER     15 

the  results  of  these  extensive  and  carefully  conducted 
experiments  is  as  follows :  — 

Oats 385 

Barley        464 

Corn 271 

Peas 477 

Clover        576 

Potatoes    ............  385 

The  figures  in  the  above  table",  averaging  about 
446  pounds,   indicate   that  very   nearly  the  same 


Fig.  6.     Plant  house  at  Wisconsin  in  which  F.  H.  King  did  much  of  his 
famous  work  on  the  water  requirements  of  plants. 

quantity  of  water  is  required  for  the  production  of 
crops  in  Wisconsin  as  in  Germany.    The  Wisconsin 


16  DRY-FARMING 

results  tend  to  be  somewhat  higher  than  those  ob- 
tained in  Europe,  but  the  difference  is  small. 

It  is  a  settled  principle  of  science,  as  will  be  more 
fully  discussed  later,  that  the  amount  of  water 
evaporated  from  the  soil  and  transpired  by  plant 
leaves  increases  materially  with  an  increase  in  the 
average  temperature  during  the  growing  season,  and 
is  much  higher  under  a  clear  sky  and  in  districts 
where  the  atmosphere  is  dry.  Wherever  dry-farm- 
ing is  likely  to  be  practiced,  a  moderately  high  tem- 
perature, a  cloudless  sky,  and  a  dry  atmosphere  ar^ 
the  prevailing  conditions.  It  appeared  probable, 
therefore,  that  in  arid  countries  the  amount  of  water 
required  for  the  production  of  one  pound  of  dry  mat- 
ter would  be  higher  than  in  the  humid  regions  of 
Germany  and  Wisconsin.  To  secure  information 
on  this  subject,  Widtsoe  and  Merrill  undertook,  in 
1900,  a  series  of  experiments  in  Utah,  which  were 
conducted  upon  the  plan  of  the  earlier  experimenters. 
An  average  statement  of  the  results  of  six  years' 
experimentation  is  given  in  the  subjoined  table, 
showing  the  number  of  pounds  of  water  required  for 
one  pound  of  dry  matter  on  fertile  soils :  — 

Wheat 1048 

Corn 589 

Peas 1118 

Sugar  beets 630 

These  Utah  findings  support  strongly  the  doctrine 
that  the  amount  of  water  required  for  the  produc- 


RELATION   OF   WATER   TO   DRY   MATTER  17 

tion  of  each  pound  of  dry  matter  is  very  much  larger 
under  arid  conditions,  as  in  Utah,  than  under  humid 
conditions,  as  in  Germany  or  Wisconsin.  It  must  be 
observed,  however,  that  in  all  of  these  experiments 
the  plants  were  supplied  with  water  in  a  somewhat 
wasteful  manner ;  that  is,  they  were  given  an  abun- 
dance of  water,  and  used  the  largest  quantity  pos- 
sible under  the  prevailing  conditions.  No  attempt 
of  any  kind  was  made  to  economize  water.  The 
results,  therefore,  represent  maximum  results  and 
can  be  safely  used  as  such.  Moreover,  the  methods 
of  dry-farming,  involving  the  storage  of  water  in 
deep  soils  and  systematic  cultivation,  were  not  em- 
ployed. The  experiments,  both  in  Europe  and 
America,  rather  represent  irrigated  conditions.  There 
are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  in  Germany, 
Wisconsin,  and  Utah  the  amounts  above  given  can 
be  materially  reduced  by  the  employment  of  proper 
cultural  methods. 

In  view  of  these  findings  concerning  the  water 
requirements  of  crops,  it  cannot  be  far  from  the  truth 
to  say  that,  under  average  cultural  conditions,  ap- 
proximately 750  pounds  of  water  are  required  in  an 
arid  district  for  the  production  of  one  pound  of  dry 
matter  (Fig.  7).  Where  the  aridity  is  intense,  this 
figure  may  be  somewhat  low,  and  in  localities  of  sub- 
humid  conditions,  it  will  undoubtedly  be  too  high. 
As  a  maximum  average,  however,  for  districts  inter- 
ested in  dry-farming,  it  can  be  used  with  safety. 


18 


DRY-FARMING 


Crop-producing  power  of  rainfall 

If  this  conclusion,  that  not  more  than  750  pounds 
of   water   are    required    under    ordinary    dry-farm 

conditions  for  the 
production  of  one 
pound  of  dry  matter, 
be  accepted,  certain 
interesting  calcula- 
tions can  be  made 
respecting  the  pos- 
sibilities of  dry-farm- 
ing. For  example, 
the  production  of  one 
bushel  of  wheat  will 
require  60  times  750, 
or  45,000  pounds  of 
water.  The  wheat 
kernels,  however, 
cannot  be  produced 
without  a  certain 
amount  of  straw, 
which  under  con- 
ditions of  dry-farm- 
ing seldom  forms 

Fig.  7.     The   water   in   the   large   bottle  ° 

would    be    required    to    produce    the     quite  One  half  of  tllO 
grain  in  the  small  bottle.  ^.^   Qf   ^   ^^ 

plant.     Let  us  say,  however,  that   the  weights  of 
straw  and  kernels  are  equal.    Then,  to  produce  one 


THE    WATER   NECESSARY  FOR   A   CROP 


19 


bushel  of  wheat,  with  the  corresponding  quantity  of 
straw,  would  require  2  times  45,000,  or  90,000 
pounds  of  water.  This  is  equal  to  45  tons  of  water 
for  each  bushel  of  wheat.  While  this  is  a  large  fig- 
ure, yet,  in  many  localities,  it  is  undoubtedly  well 
within  the  truth.     In  comparison  with  the  amounts 


Fig.  8.     The  famous  Palouse  wheat  section  is  a  succession  of  low  rolling 
hills.     Idaho. 


of  water  that  fall  upon  the  land  as  rain,  it  does  not 
seem  extraordinarily  large. 

One  inch  of  water  over  one  acre  of  land  weighs 
approximately  226,875  pounds,  or  over  113  tons. 
If  this  quantity  of  water  could  be  stored  in  the  soil 
and  used  wholly  for  plant  production,  it  would  pro- 
duce, at  the  rate  of  45  tons  of  water  for  each  bushel, 
about  2\  bushels  of  wheat.     With  10  inches  of  rain- 


20  DRY-FARMING 

fall,  which  up  to  the  present  seems  to  be  the  lower 
limit  of  successful  dry-farming,  there  is  a  maximum 
possibility  of  producing  25  bushels  of  wheat  annually. 
In  the  subjoined  table,  constructed  on  the  basis 
of  the  discussion  of  this  chapter,  the  wheat-produc- 
ing powers  of  various  degrees  of  annual  precipita- 
tion are  shown :  — 

One  acre  inch  of  water  will  produce  2^  bushels  of  wheat. 
Ten  acre  inches  of  water  will  produce  25  bushels  of  wheat. 
Fifteen  acre  inches  of  water  will  produce  37^  bushels  of 

wheat. 
Twenty  acre  inches  of  water  will  produce  50  bushels  of 

wheat. 

It  must  be  distinctly  remembered,  however,  that 
under  no  known  system  of  tillage  can  all  the  water 
that  falls  upon  a  soil  be  brought  into  the  soil  and 
stored  there  for  plant  use.  Neither  is  it  possible  to 
treat  a  soil  so  that  all  the  stored  soil-moisture  may 
be  used  for  plant  production.  Some  moisture,  of 
necessity,  will  evaporate  directly  from  the  soil,  and 
some  mav  be  lost  in  many  other  ways.  Yet,  even 
under  a  rainfall  of  12  inches,  if  only  one  half  of  the 
water  can  be  conserved,  which  experiments  have 
shown  to  be  very  feasible,  there  is  a  possibility  of 
producing  30  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  every  other 
year,  which  insures  an  excellent  interest  on  the 
money  and  labor  invested  in  the  production  of  the 
crop. 


THE   THEORETICAL   BASIS    OF   DRY-FARMING        21 

It  is  on  the  grounds  outlined  in  this  chapter  that 
students  of  the  subject  believe  that  ultimately  large 
areas  of  the  u desert "  may  be  reclaimed  by  means 
of  dry-farming.  The  real  question  before  the  dry- 
farmer  is  not,  "Is  the  rainfall  sufficient  ? "  but  rather, 
"Is  it  possible  so  to  conserve  and  use  the  rainfall  as 
to  make  it  available  for  the  production  of  profitable 
crops?" 


CHAPTER  III 

DRY-FARM    AREAS.  —  RAINFALL 

The  annual  precipitation  of  rain  and  snow  deter- 
mines primarily  the  location  of  dry-farm  areas. 
As  the  rainfall  varies,  the  methods  of  dry-farming 
must  be  varied  accordingly.  Rainfall,  alone,  does 
not,  however,  furnish  a  complete  index  of  the  crop- 
producing  possibilities  of  a  country. 

The  distribution  of  the  rainfall,  the  amount  of 
snow,  the  water-holding  power  of  the  soil,  and  the 
various  moisture-dissipating  causes,  such  as  winds, 
high  temperature,  abundant  sunshine,  and  low  humid- 
ity, frequently  combine  to  offset  the  benefits  of  a  large 
annual  precipitation.  Nevertheless,  no  one  climatic 
feature  represents,  on  the  average,  so  correctly 
dry-farming  possibilities  as  does  the  annual  rainfall. 
Experience  has  already  demonstrated  that  wherever 
the  annual  precipitation  is  above  15  inches,  there  is 
no  need  of  crop  failures,  if  the  soils  are  suitable  and 
the  methods  of  dry-farming  are  correctly  employed. 
With  an  annual  precipitation  of  10  to  15  inches, 
there  need  be  very  few  failures,  if  proper  cultural, 
precautions  are  taken.  With  our  present  methods, 
the  areas  that  receive  less  than  10  inches  of  atmos- 

22 


24  DRY-FARMING 

pheric  precipitation  per  year  are  not  safe  for  dry- 
farm  purposes.  What  the  future  will  show  in  the 
reclamation  of  these  deserts,  without  irrigation,  is 
yet  conjectural. 

Arid,  semiarid,  and  sub-humid 

Before  proceeding  to  an  examination  of  the  areas 
in  the  United  States  subject  to  the  methods  of  dry- 
farming,  it  may  be  well  to  define  somewhat  more' 
clearly  the  terms  ordinarily  used  in  the  description 
of  the  great  territory  involved  in  the  discussion. 

The  states  lying  west  of  the  100th  meridian  are 
loosely  spoken  of  as  arid,  semiarid,  or  sub-humid 
states.  For  commercial  purposes  no  state  wants  to 
be  classed  as  arid  and  to  suffer  under  the  handicap 
of  advertised  aridity.  The  annual  rainfall  of  these 
states  ranges  from  about  3  to  over  30  inches. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  greater  definiteness,  it  may 
be  well  to  assign  definite  rainfall  values  to  the  ordi- 
narily used  descriptive  terms  of  the  region  in  question. 
It  is  proposed,  therefore,  that  districts  receiving 
less  than  10  inches  of  atmospheric  precipitation 
annually,  be  designated  arid;  those  receiving  between 
10  and  20  inches,  semiarid;  those  receiving  between 
20  and  30  inches,  sub-humid,  and  those  receiving  over 
30  inches,  humid.  It  is  admitted  that  even  such  a 
classification  is  arbitrary,  since  aridity  does  not  alone 
depend  upon  the  rainfall,  and  even  under  such  a 


DEFINITIONS  25 

classification  there  is  an  unavoidable  overlapping. 
However,  no  one  factor  so  fully  represents  varying 
degrees  of  aridity  as  the  annual  precipitation,  and 
there  is  a  great  need  for  concise  definitions  of  the 
terms  used  in  describing  the  parts  of    the  country 


•)•> 


Fig.   10.     Sagebrush  growing  in  infertile  sandy  soil  under  an  annual  rain- 
fall of  less  than  10  inches.     Utah. 

that  come  under  dry-farming  discussions.   In  this  vol- 
ume, the  terms  "arid,"  "semiarid,"  "sub-humid 
and  "humid"  are  used  as  above  defined. 


Precipitation  over  the  dry-farm  territory 

The  map  on  page  23,  based  upon  the  work  of 
Professor  A.  J.  Henry  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau,  shows  graphically  the  normal  annual  pre- 
cipitation in  the  United  States  of  America.    Exami- 


26  DRY-FARMING 

nation  of  this  map  proves  that  nearly  one  half  of  the 
whole  area  of  the  United  States  receives  20  inches  or 
less  rainfall  annually;  and  that  when  the  strip  re- 
ceiving between  20  and  30  inches  is  added,  the  whole 
area  directly  subject  to  reclamation  by  irrigation  or 
dry-farming  is  considerably  more  than  one  half 
(63  per  cent)  of  the  whole  area  of  the  United  States. 
Eighteen  states  are  included  in  this  area  of  low 
rainfall.  The  areas  of  these,  as  given  by  the  Census 
of  1900,  grouped  according  to  the  annual  precipita- 
tion received,  are  shown  below :  — 

Arid  to  Semi-  Total  Area  Land 

arid  Group  Surface  (Sq.  Miles) 

Arizona        ......  112,920 

California    ......  156,172 

Colorado     ......  103,645 

Idaho     .......  84,290 

Nevada  .......  109,740 

Utah 82,190 

Wyoming 97,575    


Total 746,532 

Skmiarid  to  Sub-humid  Group 

Montana 145,310 

Nebraska 76,840 

New  Mexico 112,460 

North  Dakota      ....  70,195 

Oregon 94,560 

South  Dakota       ....  76,850 

Washington 66,880 


Total 653,095 


AREAS    OF   DRY-FARMING  27 

Sub-humid  to  Humid  Group 

Kansas        81,700 

Minnesota 79,205 

Oklahoma 38,830 

Texas 262,290 

Total 462,025 

Total  for  all  groups    .  1,861,652 

The  territory  directly  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  methods  of  dry-farming  forms  63  per 
cent  of  the  whole  of  the  continental  United  States, 


Fig.  11.  Sagebrush  on  fertile  clay  loam  under  an  annual  rainfall  of  15 
inches.  Utah.  Wherever  there  is  a  thrifty  growth  of  sagebrush,  the 
success  of  dry-farming  is  certain. 


not  including  Alaska,  and  covers  an  area  of  1,861,652 
square  miles,  or  1,191,457,280  acres.     If  any  excuse 


28  DRY-FARMING 

were  needed  for  the  lively  interest  taken  in  the  sub- 
ject of  dry-farming,  it  is  amply  furnished  by  these 
figures  showing  the  vast  extent  of  the  country 
interested  in  the  reclamation  of  land  by  the  methods 
of  dry-farming.  As  will  be  shown  below,  nearly 
every  other  large  country  possesses  similar  immense 
areas  under  limited  rainfall. 

Of  the  one  billion,  one  hundred  and  ninety-one 
million,  four  hundred  and  fifty-seven  thousand,  two 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  (1,191,457,280)  repre- 
senting the  dry-farm  territory  of  the  United  States, 
about  22  per  cent,  or  a  little  more  than  one  fifth,  is 
sub-humid  and  receives  between  20  and  30  inches  of 
rainfall,  annually ;  61  per  cent,  or  a  little  more  than 
three  fifths,  is  semiarid  and  receives  between  10  and 
20  inches,  annually,  and  about  17  per  cent,  or  a  little 
less  than  one  fifth,  is  arid  and  receives  less  than 
10  inches  of  rainfall,  annually. 

These  calculations  are  based  upon  the  published 
average  rainfall  maps  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau.  In  the  far  West,  and  especially  over  the 
so-called  " desert"  regions,  with  their  sparse  popula- 
tion, meteorological  stations  are  not  numerous,  nor 
is  it  easy  to  secure  accurate  data  from  them.  It  is 
strongly  probable  that  as  more  stations  are  estab- 
lished, it  will  be  found  that  the  area  receiving  less 
than  10  inches  of  rainfall  annually  is  considerably 
smaller  than  above  estimated.  In  fact,  the  United 
States  Reclamation  Service  states  that  there  are  only 


Fig.  12.     The  annual  rainfall  over  the 


Dry-farming  is  a  world  problem. 


SEMI  ARID  AREAS  31 

70,000,000  acres  of  desert-like  land;  that  is,  land 
which  does  not  naturally  support  plants  suitable 
for  forage.  This  area  is  about  one  third  of  the  lands 
which,  so  far  as  known,  at  present  receive  less  than 
10  inches  of  rainfall,  or  only  about  6  per  cent  of  the 
total  dry-farming  territory. 

In  any  case,  the  semiarid  area  is  at  present  most 
vitally  interested  in  dry-farming.  The  sub-humid 
area  need  seldom  suffer  from  drouth,  if  ordinary 
well-known  methods  are  employed;  the  arid  area, 
receiving  less  than  10  inches  of  rainfall,  in  all  proba- 
bility, can  be  reclaimed  without  irrigation  only  by 
the  development  of  more  suitable  methods  than  are 
known  to-day.  The  semiarid  area,  which  is  the 
special  consideration  of  present-day  dry-farming, 
represents  an  area  of  over  725,000,000  acres  of  land. 
Moreover,  it  must  be  remarked  that  the  full  cer- 
tainty of  crops  in  the  sub-humid  regions  will  come 
only  with  the  adoption  of  dry-farming  methods; 
and  that  results  already  obtained  on  the  edge  of 
the  "deserts"  lead  to  the  belief  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  area  receiving  less  than  10  inches  of  rainfall, 
annually,  will  ultimately  be  reclaimed  without  irri- 
gation. 

Naturally,  not  the  whole  of  the  vast  area  just 
discussed  could  be  brought  under  cultivation,  even 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions  of  rainfall.  A 
veiy  large  portion  of  the  territory  in  question  is 
mountainous  and  often  of  so  rugged  a  nature  that  to 


32  DRY-FARMIN.G 

farm  it  would  be  an  impossibility.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten,  however,  that  some  of  the  best  dry-farm 
lands  of  the  West  are  found  in  the  small  mountain 
valleys,  which  usually  are  pockets  of  most  fertile 
soil,  under  a  good  supply  of  rainfall.  The  foothills 
of  the  mountains  are  almost  invariably  excellent 
dry-farm  lands.  Newell  estimates  that  195,000,000 
acres  of  land  in  the  arid  to  sub-humid  sections  are 
covered  with  a  more  or  less  dense  growth  of  timber. 
This  timbered  area  roughly  represents  the  mountain- 
ous and  therefore  the  nonarable  portions  of  land. 
The  same  authority  estimates  that  the  desert-like 
lands  cover  an  area  of  70,000,000  acres.  Making 
the  most  liberal  estimates  for  mountainous  and 
desert-like  lands,  at  least  one  half  of  the  whole 
area,  or  about  600,000,000  acres,  is  arable  land, 
which  by  proper  methods  may  be  reclaimed  for 
agricultural  purposes.  Irrigation  when  fully  de- 
veloped may  reclaim  not  to  exceed  5  per  cent  of 
this  area.  From  any  point  of  view,  therefore,  the 
possibilities  involved  in  dry-farming  in  the  United 
States  are  immense. 


Dry -farm  area  of  the  world 

Dry-farming  is  a  world  problem.  Aridity  is  a 
condition  met  and  to  be  overcome  upon  every  con- 
tinent. McColl  estimates  that  in  Australia,  which  is 
somewhat  larger  than  the  continental  United  States 


WORLD   AREAS 


33 


of  America,  only  one  third  of  the  whole  surface 
receives  above  20  inches  of  rainfall  annually;  one 
third  receives  from  10  to  20  inches,  and  one  third 
receives  less  than  10  inches.  That  is,  about 
1,267,000,000  acres  in  Australia  are  subject  to 
reclamation  by  dry-farming  methods.  This  condi- 
tion is  not  far  from  that  which  prevails  in  the  United 
States,  and  is  representative  of  every  continent  of  the 
world.  The  map  on  pages  30-31  shows  graphically 
the  approximate  rainfall  over  the  various  parts  of  the 
earth's  land  surface.  The  following  table  gives  the 
proportions  of  the  earth's  land  surface  under  various 
degrees  of  annual  precipitations :  — 


Annual  Precipitation 

Proportion  of  Earth's  Land 

Surface 

Under  10  inches        .     .     . 

25.0  per  cent 

From  10  to  20  inches     .     . 

30.0  per  cent 

From  20  to  40  inches     .     . 

20.0  per  cent 

From  40  to  60  inches     .     . 

11.0  per  cent 

From  60  to  80  inches     .     . 

9.0  per  cent 

From  80  to  120  inches  .     . 

4.0  per  cent 

From  120  to  160  inches      . 

0.5  per  cent 

Above  160  inches      .     .     . 

0.5  per  cent 

100.00 

Fifty-five  per  cent,  or  more  than  one  half  of  the 
total  land  surface  of  the  earth,  receives  an  annual 
precipitation  of  less  than  20  inches,  and  must  be 
reclaimed,  if  at  all,  by  dry-farming.     At  least  10 


34  DRY-FARMING 

per  cent  more  receives  from  20  to  30  inches  under 
conditions  that  make  dry-farming  methods  necessary. 
A  total  of  about  65  per  cent  of  the  earth's  land  sur- 
face is,  therefore,  directly  interested  in  dry-farming. 
With  the  future  perfected  development  of  irrigation 
systems  and  practices,  not  more  than  10  per  cent 
will  be  reclaimed  by  irrigation.  Dry-farming  is 
truly  a  problem  to  challenge  the  attention  of  the 
race. 


CHAPTER  IV 

DRY-FARM  AREAS.  —  GENERAL  CLIMATIC  FEATURES 

The  dry-farm  territory  of  the  United  States 
stretches  from  the  Pacific  seaboard  to  the  96th  parallel 
of  longitude,  and  from  the  Canadian  to  the  Mexican 
boundary,  making  a  total  area  of  nearly  1,800,000 
square  miles.  This  immense  territory  is  far  from 
being  a  vast  level  plain.  On  the  extreme  east  is  the 
Great  Plains  region  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  which 
is  a  comparatively  uniform  country  of  rolling  hills, 
but  no  mountains.  At  a  point  about  one  third  of 
the  whole  distance  westward  the  whole  land  is  lifted 
skyward  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  cross  the 
country  from  south  to  northwest.  Here  are  innu- 
merable peaks,  canons,  high  table-lands,  roaring 
torrents,  and  quiet  mountain  valleys.  West  of  the 
Rockies  is  the  great  depression  known  as  the  Great 
Basin,  which  has  no  outlet  to  the  ocean.  It  is 
essentially  a  gigantic  level  lake  floor  traversed  in 
many  directions  by  mountain  ranges  that  are  off- 
shoots from  the  backbone  of  the  Rockies.  South 
of  the  Great  Basin  are  the  high  plateaus,  into  which 
many  great  chasms  are  cut,  the  best  known  and 
largest  of  which  is  the  great  Canon  of  the  Colorado. 

35 


36  DRY-FARMING 

North  and  east  of  the  Great  Basin  is  the  Columbia 
River  Basin  characterized  by  basaltic  rolling  plains 
and  broken  mountain  country.  To  the  west,  the 
floor  of  the  Great  Basin  is  lifted  up  into  the  region 
of  eternal  snow  by  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains, 
which  north  of  Nevada  are  known  as  the  Cascades. 
On  the  west,  the  Sierra  Nevadas  slope  gently,  through 
intervening  valleys  and  minor  mountain  ranges, 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
imagine  a  more  diversified  topography  than  is  pos- 
sessed by  the  dry-farm  territory  of  the  United  States. 

Uniform  climatic  conditions  are  not  to  be  expected 
over  such  a  broken  country.  The  chief  determining 
factors  of  climate  —  latitude,  relative  distribution 
of  land  and  water,  elevation,  prevailing  winds  — 
swing  between  such  large  extremes  that  of  necessity 
the  climatic  conditions  of  different  sections  are  widely 
divergent.  Dry-farming  is  so  intimately  related 
to  climate  that  the  typical  climatic  variations  must 
be  pointed  out. 

The  total  annual  precipitation  is  directly  influ- 
enced by  the  land  topography,  especially  by  the 
great  mountain  ranges.  On  the  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  is  the  sub-humid  district,  which  receives 
from  20  to  30  inches  of  rainfall  annually;  over  the 
Rockies  themselves,  semiarid  conditions  prevail; 
in  the  Great  Basin,  hemmed  in  by  the  Rockies  on  the 
east  and  the  Sierra  Nevadas  on  the  west,  more  arid 
conditions  predominate ;  to  the  west,  over  the  Sierras 


Fig.    13.     Physical  features    of   the   dry-farm    territory   of   the    United 
States.     Note  the  great  variation  of  conditions.     (After  Tarr.) 


38  DRY-FARMING 

and  down  to  the  seacoast,  semiarid  to  sub-humid 
conditions  are  again  found. 

Seasonal  distribution  of  rainfall 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  total  annual  precipi- 
tation is  the  chief  factor  in  determining  the  success 
of  dry-farming.  However,  the  distribution  of  the 
rainfall  throughout  the  year  is  also  of  great  impor- 
tance, and  should  be  known  by  the  farmer.  A  small 
rainfall,  coming  at  the  most  desirable  season,  will 
have  greater  crop-producing  power  than  a  veiy 
much  larger  rainfall  poorly  distributed.  Moreover, 
the  methods  of  tillage  to  be  employed  where  most  of 
the  precipitation  comes  in  winter  must  be  consider- 
ably different  from  those  used  where  the  bulk  of 
the  precipitation  comes  in  the  summer.  The  suc- 
cessful dry- farmer  must  know  the  average  annua T 
precipitation,  and  also  the  average  seasonal  dis- 
tribution of  the  rainfall,  over  the  land  which  he 
intends  to  dry-farm  before  he  can  safely  choose  his 
cultural  methods. 

With  reference  to  the  monthly  distribution  of  the 
precipitation  over  the  dry-farm  territory  of  the 
United  States,  Henry  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau  recognizes  five  distinct  types ;  namely : 
(1)  Pacific,  (2)  Sub-Pacific,  (3)  Arizona,  (4)  the 
Northern  Rocky  Mountain  and  Eastern  Foothills, 
and  (5)  the  Plains  Type :  — 


MONTHLY  KAINFALLS  39 

"The  Pacific  Type.  —  This  type  is  found  in  all 
of  the  territory  west  of  the  Cascade  and  Sierra  Nevada 
ranges,  and  also  obtains  in  a  fringe  of  country  to  the 
eastward  of  the  mountain  summits.  The  distinguish- 
ing characteristic  of  the  Pacific  type  is  a  wet  season, 
extending  from  October  to  March,  and  a  practically 
rainless  summer,  except  in  northern  California  and 
parts  of  Oregon  and  Washington.  About  half  of 
the  yearly  precipitation  comes  in  the  months  of 
December,  January,  and  February,  the  remaining 
half  being  distributed  throughout  the  seven  months 
—  September,  October,  November,  March,  April, 
May,  and  June." 

"Sub-Pacific  Type.  —  The  term  ' Sub-Pacific '  has 
been  given  to  that  type  of  rainfall  which  obtains  over 
eastern  Washington,  Nevada,  and  Utah.  The  in- 
fluences that  control  the  precipitation  of  this 
region  are  much  similar  to  those  that  prevail  west 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Cascade  ranges.  There 
is  not,  however,  as  in  the  eastern  type,  a  steady 
diminution  in  the  precipitation  with  the  approach 
of  spring,  but  rather  a  culmination  in  the  precipi- 
tation." 

"Arizona  Type.  —  The  Arizona  Type,  so  called 
because  it  is  more  fully  developed  in  that  territory 
than  elsewhere,  prevails  over  Arizona,  New  Mexico, 
and  a  small  portion  of  eastern  Utah  and  Nevada. 
This  type  differs  from  all  others  in  the  fact  that 
about    35  per  cent  of   the  rain    falls  in  July  and 


20081 


40  DRY-FARMING 

August.  May  and  June  are  generally  the  months 
of  least  rainfall." 

"The  Northern  Rocky  Mountain  and  Eastern  Foot- 
hills Type.  —  This  type  is  closely  allied  to  that  of 
the  plains  to  the  eastward,  and  the  bulk  of  the  rain 
falls  in  the  foothills  of  the  region  in  April  and  May; 
in  Montana,  in  May  and  June." 

11  The  Plains  Type.  —  This  type  embraces  the 
greater  part  of  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
Oklahoma,  the  Panhandle  of  Texas,  and  all  the  great 
corn  and  wheat  states  of  the  interior  valleys.  This 
region  is  characterized  by  a  scant  winter  precipita- 
tion over  the  northern  states  and  moderately  heavy 
rains  during  the  growing  season.  The  bulk  of  the 
rains  comes  in  May,  June,  and  July." 

This  classification,  with  the  accompanying  chart 
(Fig.  14),  emphasizes  the  great  variation  in  distri- 
bution of  rainfall  over  the  dry-farm  territory  of  the 
country.  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  precipi- 
tation comes  chiefly  in  winter  and  spring,  leaving 
the  summers  rainless;  while  east  of  the  Rockies, 
the  winters  are  somewhat  rainless  and  the  precipi- 
tation comes  chiefly  in  spring  and  summer.  The 
Arizona  type  stands  midway  between  these  types. 
This  variation  in  the  distribution  of  the  rainfall  re- 
quires that  different  methods  be  employed  in  storing 
and  conserving  the  rainfall  for  crop  production. 
The  adaptation  of  cultural  methods  to  the  seasonal 
distribution  of  rainfall  will  be  discussed  hereafter. 


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42  DRY-FARMING 


Snowfall 


Closely  related  to  the  distribution  of  the  rainfall 
and  the  average  annual  temperature  is  the  snowfall. 
Wherever  a  relatively  large  winter  precipitation 
occurs,  the  dry-farmer  is  benefited  if  it  comes  in  the 
form  of  snow.  The  fall-planted  seeds  are  better 
protected  by  the  snow ;  the  evaporation  is  lower  and 
it  appears  that  the  soil  is  improved  by  the  annual 
covering  of  snow.  In  any  case,  the  methods  of 
culture  are  in  a  measure  dependent  upon  the  amount 
of  snowfall  and  the  length  of  time  that  it  lies  upon 
the  ground. 

Snow  falls  over  most  of  the  dry-farm  territory, 
excepting  the  lowlands  of  California,  the  immediate 
Pacific  coast,  and  other  districts  where  the  average 
annual  temperature  is  high.  The  heaviest  snowfall 
is  in  the  intermountain  district,  from  the  west  slope 
of  the  Sierra  Nevadas  to  the  east  slope  of  the  Rockies. 
The  degree  of  snowfall  on  the  agricultural  lands  is 
very  variable  and  dependent  upon  local  conditions. 
Snow  falls  upon  all  the  high  mountain  ranges. 

Temperature 

With  the  exceptions  of  portions  of  California, 
Arizona,  and  Texas  the  average  annual  surface 
temperature  of  the  dry-farm  territory  of  the  United 
States  ranges  from  40°  to  55°  F.    The  average  is 


TEMPERATURE   AND    DRY-FARMING 


43 


not  far  from  45°  F.  This  places  most  of  the  dry- 
farm  territory  in  the  class  of  cold  regions,  though  a 
small  area  on  the  extreme  east  border  may  be  classed 
as  temperate,  and  parts  of  California  and  Arizona 
as  warm.     The  range  in  temperature  from  the  high- 


Fig.  15.     Winter  in  the  Great  Basin.     A  good  snowfall  in  sections  where 
the  summer  precipitation  is  light  generally  insures  a  good  crop. 

est  in  summer  to  the  lowest  in  winter  is  considerable, 
but  not  widely  different  from  other  similar  parts  of 
the  United  States.  The  range  is  greatest  in  the 
interior  mountainous  districts,  and  lowest  along 
the  seacoast.  The  daily  range  of  the  highest  and 
lowest  temperatures  for  any  one  day  is  generally 
higher   over   dry-farm   sections   than   over   humid 


44  DRY-FARMING 

districts.  In  the  Plateau  regions  of  the  semiarid 
country  the  average  daily  variation  is  from  30  to 
35°  F.,  while  east  of  the  Mississippi  it  is  only  about 
20°  F.  This  greater  daily  range  is  chiefly  due  to  the 
clear  skies  and  scant  vegetation  which  facilitate 
excessive  warming  by  day  and  cooling  by  night. 

The  important  temperature  question  for  the  dry- 
farmer  is  whether  the  growing  season  is  sufficiently 
warm  and  long  to  permit  the  maturing  of  crops. 
There  are  few  places,  even  at  high  altitudes  in  the 
region  considered,  where  the  summer  temperature 
is  so  low  as  to  retard  the  growth  of  plants.  Like- 
wise, the  first  and  last  killing  frosts  are  ordinarily 
so  far  apart  as  to  allow  an  ample  growing  season. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  frosts  are  governed 
very  largely  by  local  topographic  features,  and  must 
be  known  from  a  local  point  of  view.  It  is  a  general 
law  that  frosts  are  more  likely  to  occur  in  valleys 
than  on  hillsides,  owing  to  the  downward  drainage 
of  the  cooled  air.  Further,  the  danger  of  frost  in- 
creases with  the  altitude.  In  general,  the  last 
killing  frost  in  spring  over  the  dry-farm  territory 
varies  from  March  15  to  May  29,  and  the  first  killing 
frost  in  autumn  from  September  15  to  November  15. 
These  limits  permit  of  the  maturing  of  all  ordinary 
farm  crops,  especially  the  grain  crops. 


MOISTURE    IN    THE   AIR  45 

Relative  humidity 

At  a  definite  temperature,  the  atmosphere  can  hold 
only  a  certain  amount  of  water  vapor.  When  the 
air  can  hold  no  more,  it  is  said  to  be  saturated. 
When  it  is  not  saturated,,  the  amount  of  water  vapor 
actually  held  by  the  air  is  expressed  in  percentages  of 
the  quantity  required  for  saturation.  A  relative  hu- 
midity of  100  per  cent  means  that  the  air  is  saturated ; 
of  50  per  cent,  that  it  is  only  one  half  saturated.  The 
drier  the  air  is,  the  more  rapidly  does  the  water  evapo- 
rate into  it.  To  the  dry-farmer,  therefore,  the  relative 
humidity  or  degree  of  dryness  of  the  air  is  of  very 
great  importance.  According  to  Professor  Henry, 
the  chief  characteristics  of  the  geographic  distribu- 
tion of  relative  humidity  in  the  United  States  are 
as  follows :  — 

(1)  Along  the  coasts  there  is  a  belt  of  high  humid- 
ity at  all  seasons,  the  percentage  of  saturation 
ranging  from  75  to  80  per  cent. 

(2)  Inland,  from  about  the  70th  meridian  east- 
ward to  •  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  amount  varies  be- 
tween 70  and  75  per  cent. 

(3)  The  dry  region  is  in  the  Southwest,  where  the 
average  annual  value  is  not  over  50  per  cent.  In  this 
region  are  included  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  western 
Colorado,  and  the  greater  portion  of  both  Utah  and 
Nevada.  The  amount  of  annual  relative  humidity 
in  the  remaining  portion  of  the  elevated  district, 


46  DRY-FARMING 

between  the  100th  meridian  on  the  east  to  the 
Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Cascades  on  the  west, 
varies  between  oo  and  65  per  cent.  In  July,  August, 
and  September,  the  mean  values  in  the  South- 
west sink  as  low  as  20  to  30  per  cent,  while  along 
the  Pacific  coast  districts  they  continue  about  80 
per  cent  the  year  round.  In  the  Atlantic  coast 
districts,  and  generally  east  from  the  Mississippi 
River,  the  variation  from  month  to  month  is  not 
great.  April  is  probably  the  driest  month  of  the 
year. 

The  air  of  the  dry- farm  territory,  therefore,  on  the 
whole,  contains  considerably  less  than  two  thirds 
the  amount  of  moisture  carried  by  the  air  of  the  hu- 
mid states.  This  means  that  evaporation  from 
plant  leaves  and  soil  surfaces  will  go  on  more  rapidly 
in  semiarid  than  in  humid  regions.  Against  this 
danger,  which  cannot  be  controlled,  the  dry-farmer 
must  take  special  precautions. 

Sunshine 

The  amount  of  sunshine  in  a  dry-farm  section  is 
also  of  importance.  Direct  sunshine  promotes  plant 
growth,  but  at  the  same  time  it  accelerates  the 
evaporation  of  water  from  the  soil.  The  whole 
dry-farm  territory  receives  more  sunshine  than  do 
the  humid  sections.  In  fact,  the  amount  of  sunshine 
may  roughly  be  said  to  increase  as  the  annual  rain- 


RELATION   OF   WINDS 


47 


fall  decreases.  Over  the  larger  part  of  the  arid  and 
semiarid  sections  the  sun  shines  over  70  per  cent  of 
the  time  (Fig.  16). 

Winds 

The  winds  of  any  locality,  owing  to  their  moisture- 
dissipating  power,  play  an  important  part  in  the 
success  of  dry- 
farming.  A  per- 
sistent wind  will 
offset  much  of 
the  benefit  of  a 
heavy  rainfall 
and  careful  cul- 
tivation. While 
great  general 
laws  have  been 
formulated  re- 
garding the  movements  of  the  atmosphere,  they  are 
of  minor  value  in  judging  the  effect  of  wind  on  any 
farming  district.  Local  observations,  however,  may 
enable  the  farmer  to  estimate  the  probable  effect  of 
the  winds  and  thus  to  formulate  proper  cultural 
means  of  protection.  In  general,  those  living  in  a 
district  are  able  to  describe  it  without  special  obser- 
vations as  windy  or  quiet.  In  the  dry-farm  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  the  one  great  region  of 
relatively  high  and  persistent  winds  is  the  Great 
Plains  region  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     Dry- 


Fig.   16.     Average  annual  number  of  hours  of 
sunshine.     (Cyclo.  Am.  Agr.) 


48  DRY-FARMING 

farmers  in  that  section  will  of  necessity  be  obliged 
to  adopt  cultural  methods  that  will  prevent  the  ex- 
cessive evaporation  naturally  induced  by  the  un- 
hindered wind,  and  the  possible  blowing  of  well-tilled 
fallow  land. 

Summary 

The  dry-farm  territory  is  characterized  by  a  low 
rainfall,  averaging  between  10  and  20  inches,  the 
distribution  of  which  falls  into  two  distinct  types: 
a  heavy  winter  and  spring  with  a  light  summer 
precipitation,  and  a  heavy  spring  and  summer  with 
a  light  winter  precipitation.  Snow  falls  over  most 
of  the  territory,  but  does  not  lie  long  outside  of  the 
mountain  states.  The  whole  dry-farm  territory  may 
be  classed  as  temperate  to  cold ;  relatively  high  and 
persistent  winds  blow  only  over  the  Great  Plains, 
though  local  conditions  cause  strong  regular  winds 
in  many  other  places;  the  air  is  dry  and  the  sun- 
shine is  very  abundant.  In  brief,  little  water  falls 
upon  the  dry-farm  territory,  and  the  climatic  factors 
are  of  a  nature  to  cause  rapid  evaporation. 

In  view  of  this  knowledge,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
thousands  of  farmers,  employing,  often  carelessly, 
agricultural  methods  developed  in  humid  sections, 
have  found  only  hardships  and  poverty  on  the 
present  dry-farm  empire  of  the  United  States. 


GENERAL   CLIMATIC    FEATURES  49 

Drouth 

Drouth  is  said  to  be  the  arch  enemy  of  the  dry- 
farmer,  but  few  agree  upon  its  meaning.  For  the 
purposes  of  this  volume,  drouth  may  be  defined  as  a 
condition  under  which  crops  fail  to  mature  because 
of  an  insufficient  supply  of  water.  Providence  has 
generally  been  charged  with  causing  drouths,  but 
under  the  above  definition,  man  is  usually  the  cause. 
Occasionally,  relatively  dry  years  occur,  but  they 
are  seldom  dry  enough  to  cause  crop  failures  if 
proper  methods  of  farming  have  been  practiced. 
There  are  four  chief  causes  of  drouth:  (1)  Improper 
or  careless  preparation  of  the  soil;  (2)  failure  to 
store  the  natural  precipitation  in  the  soil;  (3) 
failure  to  apply  proper  cultural  methods  for  keep- 
ing the  moisture  in  the  soil  until  needed  by  plants, 
and  (4)  sowing  too  much  seed  for  the  available  soil- 
moisture. 

Crop  failures  due  to  untimely  frosts,  blizzards, 
cyclones,  tornadoes,  or  hail  may  perhaps  be  charged 
to  Providence,  but  the  dry-farmer  must  accept  the 
responsibility  for  any  crop  injury  resulting  from 
drouth.  A  fairly  accurate  knowledge  of  the  climatic 
conditions  of  the  district,  a  good  understanding  of 
the  principles  of  agriculture  without  irrigation  under 
a  low  rainfall,  and  a  vigorous  application  of  these 
principles  as  adapted  to  the  local  climatic  conditions 
will  make  dry-farm  failures  a  rarity. 


CHAPTER  V 

DRY-FARM    SOILS 

Important  as  is  the  rainfall  in  making  dry-farming 

successful,  it  is  not  more  so  than  the  soils  of  the  dry- 
farms.  On  a  shallow  soil,  or  on  one  penetrated  with 
gravel  streaks,  crop  failures  are  probable  even  under 
a  large  rainfall :  but  a  deep  soil  of  uniform  texture, 
unbroken  by  gravel  or  hardpan,  in  which  much  water 
may  be  stored,  and  which  furnishes  also  an  abun- 
dance of  feeding  space  for  the  roots,  will  yield  large 
crops  even  under  a  very  small  rainfall.  Likewise,  an 
infertile  soil,  though  it  be  deep,  and  under  a  large 
precipitation,  cannot  be  depended  on  for  good  crops; 
but  a  fertile  soil,  though  not  quite  so  deep,  nor  under 
so  large  a  rainfall,  will  almost  invariably  bring  large 
crops  to  maturity. 

A  correct  understanding  of  the  soil,  from  the  sur- 
face to  a  depth  of  ten  feet,  is  almost  indispensable 
before  a  safe  judgment  can  be  pronounced  upon  the 
full  dry-farm  possibilities  of  a  district.  Especially  is  it 
necessary  to  know  (a)  the  depth,  (b)  the  uniformity 
of  structure,  and  (c)  the  relative  fertility  of  the 
soil,  in  order  to  plan  an  intelligent  system  of  farming 

50 


DRY-FARM    SOILS  51 

that  will  be  rationally  adapted  to  the  rainfall  and 
other  climatic  factors. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  so  much  of  our  infor- 
mation concerning  the  soils  of  the  dry-farm  territory 
of  the  United  States  and  other  countries  has  been 
obtained  according  to  the  methods  and  for  the  needs 
of  humid  countries,  and  that,  therefore,  the  special 
knowledge  of  our  arid  and  semiarid  soils  needed 
for  the  development  of  dry-farming  is  small  and 
fragmentary.  What  is  known  to-day  concerning  the 
nature  of  arid  soils  and  their  relation  to  cultural 
processes  under  a  scanty  rainfall  is  due  very  largely 
to  the  extensive  researches  and  voluminous  writings 
of  Dr.  E.  W.  Hilgard,  who  for  a  generation  was  in 
charge  of  the  agricultural  work  of  the  state  of  Cali- 
fornia. Future  students  of  arid  soils  must  of  neces- 
sity rest  their  investigations  upon  the  pioneer  work 
done  by  Dr.  Hilgard.  The  contents  of  this  chapter 
are  in  a  large  part  gathered  from  Hilgard's  writings. 

The  formation  of  soils 

"Soil  is  the  more  or  less  loose  and  friable  material 
in  which,  by  means  of  their  roots,  plants  may  or  do 
find  a  foothold  and  nourishment,  as  well  as  other 
conditions  of  growth."  Soil  is  formed  by  a  complex 
process,  broadly  known  as  weathering,  from  the  rocks 
which  constitute  the  earth's  crust.  Soil  is  in  fact 
only  pulverized  and  altered  rock.    The  forces  that 


52  DRY-FARMING 

produce  soil  from  rocks  are  of  two  distinct  classes : 
physical  and  chemical.  The  physical  agencies  of  soil 
production  merely  cause  a  pulverization  of  the 
rock;  the  chemical  agencies,  on  the  other  hand,  so 
thoroughly  change  the  essential  nature  of  the  soil 
particles  that  they  are  no  longer  like  the  rock  from 
which  they  were  formed. 

Of  the  physical  agencies,  temperature  changes  are 
first  in  order  of  time,  and  perhaps  of  first  importance. 
As  the  heat  of  the  day  increases,  the  rock  expands, 
and  as  the  cold  night  approaches,  contracts.  This 
alternate  expansion  and  contraction,  in  time,  cracks 
the  surfaces  of  the  rocks.  Into  the  tiny  crevices 
thus  formed  water  enters  from  the  falling  snow  or 
rain.  When  winter  comes,  the  water  in  these  cracks 
freezes  to  ice,  and  in  so  doing  expands  and  widens 
each  of  the  cracks.  As  these  processes  are  repeated 
from  day  to  day,  from  year  to  year,  and  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  the  surfaces  of  the  rocks  crumble. 
The  smaller  rocks  so  formed  are  acted  upon  by  the 
same  agencies,  in  the  same  manner,  and  thus  the 
process  of  pulverization  goes  on. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  second  great  agency  of 
soil  formation,  which  always  acts  in  conjunction  with 
temperature  changes,  is  freezing  water.  The  rock 
particles  formed  in  this  manner  are  often  washed 
down  into  the  mountain  valleys,  there  caught  by 
great  rivers,  ground  into  finer  dust,  and  at  length 
deposited  in  the  lower  valleys.    Moving  water  thus 


FORMATION   OF   DRY-FARM   SOILS  53 

becomes  another  physical  agency  of  soil  production. 
Most  of  the  soils  covering  the  great  dry-farm  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  and  other  countries  have 
been  formed  in  this  way. 

In  places,  glaciers  moving  slowly  down  the  canons 
crush  and  grind  into  powder  the  rock  over  which 
they  pass  and  deposit  it  lower  down  as  soils.  In 
other  places,  where  strong  winds  blow  with  frequent 
regularity,  sharp  soil  grains  are  picked  up  by  the  air 
and  hurled  against  the  rocks,  which,  under  this 
action,  are  carved  into  fantastic  forms.  In  still  other 
places,  the  strong  winds  carry  soil  over  long  distances 
to  be  mixed  with  other  soils.  Finally,  on  the  sea- 
shore the  great  waves  dashing  against  the  rocks  of 
the  coast  line,  and  rolling  the  mass  of  pebbles  back 
and  forth,  break  and  pulverize  the  rock  until  soil  is 
formed.  Glaciers,  winds,  and  waves  are  also,  there- 
fore, physical  agencies  of  soil  formation. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  result  of  the  action  of 
all  these  agencies  is  to  form  a  rock  powder,  each 
particle  of  which  preserves  the  composition  that  it 
had  while  it  was  a  constituent  part  of  the  rock.  It 
may  further  be  noted  that  the  chief  of  these  soil- 
forming  agencies  act  more  vigorously  in  arid  than 
in  humid  sections.  Under  the  cloudless  sky  and  dry 
atmosphere  of  regions  of  limited  rainfall,  the  daily 
and  seasonal  temperature  changes  are  much  greater 
than  in  sections  of  greater  rainfall.  Consequently 
the  pulverization  of  rocks  goes  on  most  rapidly  in 


54  DRY-FARMIXG 

dry-farm  districts.  Constant  heavy  winds,  which 
as  soil  formers  arc  second  only  to  temperature 
changes  and  freezing  water,  are  also  usually  more 
common  in  arid  than  in  humid  countries.  This  is 
strikingly  shown,  for  instance,  on  the  Colorado 
desert  and  the  Great  Plains. 

The  rock  powder  formed  by  the  processes  above 
described  is  continually  being  acted  upon  by  agencies, 
the  effect  of  which  is  to  change  its  chemical  compo- 
sition. Chief  of  these  agencies  is  water,  which  exerts 
a  solvent  action  on  all  known  substances.  Pure 
water  exerts  a  strong  solvent  action,  but  when  it 
has  been  rendered  impure  by  a  variety  of  substanc 
naturally  occurring,  its  solvent  action  is  greatly 
increased. 

The  most  effective  water  impurity,  considering 
soil  formation,  is  the  gas,  carbon  dioxid.  This  gas 
is  formed  whenever  plant  or  animal  substances 
decay,  and  is  therefore  found,  normally,  in  the 
atmosphere  and  in  soils.  Rains  or  flowing  water 
gather  the  carbon  dioxid  from  the  atmosphere  and 
the  soil:  few  natural  waters  are  free  from  it.  The 
hardest  rock  particles  are  disintegrated  by  carbon- 
ated water,  while  limestones,  or  rocks  containing 
lime,  are  readily  dissolved. 

The  result  of  the  action  of  carbonated  water  upon 
soil  particles  is  to  render  soluble,  and  therefore  more 
available  to  plants,  many  of  the  important  plant- 
foods.     In  this  way  the  action  of  water,  holding  in 


FORMATION    OF   DRY-FARM   SOILS  55 

solution  carbon  dioxid  and  other  substances,  tends 
to  make  the  soil  more  fertile. 

The  second  great  chemical  agency  of  soil  formation 
is  the  oxygen  of  the  air.  Oxidation  is  a  process  of 
more  or  less  rapid  burning,  which  tends  to  accelerate 
the  disintegration  of  rocks. 

Finally,  the  plants  growing  in  soils  are  powerful 
agents  of  soil  formation.  First,  the  roots  forcing 
their  way  into  the  soil  exert  a  strong  pressure  which 
helps  to  pulverize  the  soil  grains ;  secondly,  the  acids 
of  the  plant  roots  actually  dissolve  the  soil,  and  third, 
in  the  mass  of  decaying  plants,  substances  are  formed, 
among  them  carbon  dioxid,  that  have  the  power 
of  making  soils  more  soluble. 

It  may  be  noted  that  moisture,  carbon  dioxid, 
and  vegetation,  the  three  chief  agents  inducing 
chemical  changes  in  soils,  are  most  active  in  humid 
districts.  While,  therefore,  the  physical  agencies 
of  soil  formation  are  most  active  in  arid  climates, 
the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  chemical  agencies. 
However,  whether  in  arid  or  humid  climates,  the 
processes  of  soil  formation,  above  outlined,  are  essen- 
tially those  of  the  " fallow"  or  resting-period  given 
to  dry-farm  lands.  The  fallow  lasts  for  a  few 
months  or  a  year,  while  the  process  of  soil  forma- 
tion is  always  going  on  and  has  gone  on  for  ages; 
the  result,  in  quality  though  not  in  quantity,  is  the 
same  —  the  rock  particles  are  pulverized  and  the 
plant-foods  are  liberated.     It  must  be  remembered 


56  DRY-FARMING 

in  this  connection  that  climatic  differences  may  and 
usually  do  influence  materially  the  character  of  soils 
formed  from  one  and  the  same  kind  of  rock. 


Characteristics  of  arid  soils 

The  net  result  of  the  soil-forming  processes  above 
described  is  a  rock  powder  containing  a  great  variety 

of  sizes  of  soil  grains 
intermingled  with 
clay.  The  larger  soil 
grains  are  called 
sand;  the  smaller, 
silt,  and  those  that 
are    so    small    that 

Fig.  17.      Soil  is  a  mixture  of  particles  of    they    do     not    Settle 
very  varying  size.  c 

from  quiet  water 
after  24  hours  are  known  as  clay.  Compare  Fig.  17. 
Clay  differs  materially  from  sand  and  silt,  not  only 
in  size  of  particles,  but  also  in  properties  and  forma- 
tion. It  is  said  that  clay  particles  reach  a  degree 
of  fineness  equal  to  25W  °f  an  inch,  day  itself, 
when  wet  and  kneaded,  becomes  plastic  and  adhe- 
sive and  is  thus  easily  distinguished  from  sand. 
Because  of  these  properties,  clay  is  of  great  value 
in  holding  together  the  larger  soil  grains  in  relatively 
large  aggregates  which  give  soils  the  desired  degree 
of  tilth.  Moreover,  clay  is  very  retentive  of  water, 
gases,  and  soluble  plant-foods,  which  are  important 


NATURE    OF   DRY-FARM   SOILS  57 

factors  in  successful  agriculture.  Soils,  in  fact,  are 
classified  according  to  the  amount  of  clay  that  they 
contain.  Hilgard  suggests  the  following  classifi- 
cation :  — 

Very  sandy  soils 0.5  to    3  per  cent  clay 

Ordinary  sandy  soils     ....  3.0  to  10  per  cent  clay 

Sandy  loams 10.0  to  15  per  cent  clay 

Clay  loams 15.0  to  25  per  cent  clay 

Clay  soils 25.0  to  35  per  cent  clay 

Heavy  clay  soils 35.0  per  cent  and  over 

Clay  may  be  formed  from  any  rock  containing  some 
form  of  combined  silica  (quartz).  Thus,  granites 
and  crystalline  rocks  generally,  volcanic  rocks,  and 
shales  will  produce  clay  if  subjected  to  the  proper 
climatic  conditions.  In  the  formation  of  clay,  the 
extremely  fine  soil  particles  are  attacked  by  the  soil 
water  and  subjected  to  deep-going  chemical  changes. 
In  fact,  clay  represents  the  most  finely  pulverized 
and  most  highly  decomposed  and  hence  in  a  measure 
the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  soil.  In  the  forma- 
tion of  clay,  water  is  the  most  active  agent,  and  under 
humid  conditions  its  formation  is  most  rapid. 

It  follows  that  dry-farm  soils  formed  under  a 
more  or  less  rainless  climate  contain  less  clay  than 
do  humid  soils.  This  difference  is  characteristic, 
and  accounts  for  the  statement  frequently  made  that 
heavy  clay  soils  are  not  the  best  for  dry-farm  pur- 
poses. The  fact  is,  that  heavy  clay  soils  are  very 
rare  in  arid  regions ;  if  found  at  all,  they  have  prob- 


58  DRY-FARMING 

ably  been  formed  under  abnormal  conditions,  as  in 
high  mountain  valleys,  or  under  prehistoric  humid 
climates. 

Sand.  —  The  sand-forming  rocks  that  are  not 
capable  of  clay  production  usually  consist  of  uncom- 
bined  silica  or  quartz,  which  when  pulverized  by  the 
soil-forming  agencies  give  a  comparatively  barren 
soil.  Thus  it  has  come  about  that  ordinarily  a  clayey 
soil  is  considered  " strong"  and  a  sandy  soil  "weak." 
Though  this  distinction  is  true  in  humid  climates, 
where  clay  formation  is  rapid,  it  is  not  true  in  arid 
climates,  where  true  clay  is  formed  very  slowly. 
Under  conditions  of  deficient  rainfall,  soils  are  nat- 
urally less  clayey,  but  as  the  sand  and  silt  particles 
are  produced  from  rocks  which  under  humid  condi- 
tions would  yield  clay,  arid  soils  are  not  necessarily 
less  fertile. 

Experiment  has  shown  that  the  fertility  in  the 
sandy  soils  of  arid  sections  is  as  large  and  as  available 
to  plants  as  in  the  clayey  soils  of  humid  regions. 
Experience  in  the  arid  section  of  America,  in  Egypt, 
India,  and  other  desert-like  regions  has  further 
proved  that  the  sands  of  the  deserts  produce  excel- 
lent crops  whenever  water  is  applied  to  them.  The 
prospective  dry-farmer,  therefore,  need  not  be  afraid 
of  a  somewhat  sandy  soil,  provided  it  has  been  formed 
under  arid  conditions.  In  truth,  a  degree  of  sandi- 
ness  is  characteristic  of  dry-farm  soils. 

The  humus  content  forms  another  characteristic 


NATURE    OF   DRY-FARM    SOILS  59 

difference  between  arid  and  humid  soils.  In  humid 
regions  plants  cover  the  soil  thickly ;  in  arid  regions 
they  are  bunched  scantily  over  the  surface;  in  the 
former  case  the  decayed  remnants  of  generations  of 
plants  form  a  large  percentage  of  humus  in  the 
upper  soil;  in  the  latter,  the  scarcity  of  plant  life 
makes  the  humus  content  low.  Further,  under  an 
abundant  rainfall  the  organic  matter  in  the  soil  rots 
slowly;  whereas  in  dry  warm  climates  the  decay 
is  very  complete.  The  prevailing  forces  in  all  coun- 
tries of  deficient  rainfall  therefore  tend  to  yield  soils 
low  in  humus. 

While  the  total  amount  of  humus  in  arid  soils  is 
very  much  lower  than  in  humid  soils,  repeated  invest  i- 
gation  has  shown  that  it  contains  about  3i  times 
more  nitrogen  than  is  found  in  humus  formed  under 
an  abundant  rainfall.  Owing  to  the  prevailing  sandi- 
ness  of  dry-farm  soils,  humus  is  not  needed  so  much 
to  give  the  proper  tilth  to  the  soil  as  in  the  humid 
countries  where  the  content  of  clay  is  so  much  higher. 
Since,  for  dry-farm  purposes,  the  nitrogen  content 
is  the  most  important  quality  of  the  humus,  the  dif- 
ference between  arid  and  humid  soils,  based  upon 
the  humus  content,  is  not  so  great  as  would  appear 
at  first  sight. 

Soil  and  subsoil.  —  In  countries  of  abundant 
rainfall,  a  great  distinction  exists  between  the  soil 
and  the  subsoil.  The  soil  is  represented  by  the  upper 
few  inches  which  are  filled  with  the  remnants  of 


60  DRY-FARMING 

decayed  vegetable  matter  and  modified  by  plowing, 
harrowing,  and  other  cultural  operations.  The  sub- 
soil has  been  profoundly  modified  by  the  action  of 
the  heavy  rainfall,  which,  in  soaking  through  the 
soil,  has  carried  with  it  the  finest  soil  grains,  espe- 
cially the  clay,  into  the  lower  soil  layers. 

In  time,  the  subsoil  has  become  more  distinctly 
clayey  than  the  topsoil.  Lime  and  other  soil  ingre- 
dients have  likewise  been  carried  down  by  the  rains 
and  deposited  at  different  depths  in  the  soil  or  wholly 
washed  away.  Ultimately,  this  results  in  the  re- 
moval from  the  topsoil  of  the  necessary  plant-foods 
and  the  accumulation  in  the  subsoil  of  the  fine  clay 
particles  which  so  compact  the  subsoil  as  to  make 
it  difficult  for  roots  and  even  air  to  penetrate  it. 
The  normal  process  of  weathering  or  soil  disinte- 
gration will  then  go  on  most  actively  in  the  topsoil, 
and  the  subsoil  will  remain  unweathered  and  raw. 
This  accounts  for  the  well-known  fact  that  in  humid 
countries  any  subsoil  that  may  have  been  plowed  up 
is  reduced  to  a  normal  state  of  fertility  and  crop 
production  only  after  several  years  of  exposure  to 
the  elements.  The  humid  farmer,  knowing  this,  is 
usually  very  careful  not  to  let  his  plow  enter  the  sub- 
soil to  any  great  depth. 

In  the  arid  regions  or  wherever  a  deficient  rain- 
fall prevails,  these  conditions  are  entirely  reversed. 
The  light  rainfall  seldom  completely  fills  the  soil 
pores  to  any  considerable  depth,  but  it  rather  moves 


DRY-FARM    SUBSOILS  61 

down  slowly  as  a  film,  enveloping  the  soil  grains. 
The  soluble  materials  of  the  soil  are,  in  part  at  least, 
dissolved  and  carried  down  to  the  lower  limit  of  the 
rain  penetration,  but  the  clay  and  other  fine  soil 
particles  are  not  moved  downward  to  any  great  ex- 
tent. These  conditions  leave  the  soil  and  subsoil 
of  approximately  equal  porosity.  Plant  roots  can 
then  penetrate  the  soil  deeply,  and  the  air  can  move 
up  and  down  through  the  soil  mass  freely  and  to 
considerable  depths.  As  a  result,  arid  soils  are 
weathered  and  made  suitable  for  plant  nutrition  to 
very  great  depths.  In  fact,  in  dry-farm  regions 
there  need  be  little  talk  about  soil  and  subsoil,  since 
the  soil  is  uniform  in  texture  and  usually  nearly  so 
in  composition,  from  the  top  down  to  a  distance  of 
many  feet. 

Many  soil  sections  50  or  more  feet  in  depth  are 
exposed  in  the  dry-farming  territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  it  has  often  been  demonstrated  that  the 
subsoil  to  any  depth  is  capable  of  producing,  without 
further  weathering,  excellent  yields  of  crops.  This 
granular,  permeable  structure,  characteristic  of  arid 
soils,  is  perhaps  the  most  important  single  quality 
resulting  from  rock  disintegration  under  arid  condi- 
tions. As  Hilgard  remarks,  it  would  seem  that  the 
farmer  in  the  arid  region  owns  from  three  to  four 
farms,  one  above  the  other,  as  compared  with  the 
same  acreage  in  the  eastern  states. 

This  condition  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in 


62  DRY-FARMING 

developing  the  principles  upon  which  successful  dry- 
farming  rests.  Further,  it  may  be  said  that  while 
in  the  humid  East  the  farmer  must  be  extremely 
careful  not  to  turn  up  with  his  plow  too  much  of 
the  inert  subsoil,  no  such  fear  need  possess  the 
western  farmer.  On  the  contrary,  he  should  use 
his  utmost  endeavor  to  plow  as  deeply  as  possible 
in  order  to  prepare  the  very  best  reservoir  for  the 
falling  waters  and  a  place  for  the  development  of 
plant  roots.  Figure  18  shows  graphically  the  dif- 
ference existing  between  the  soils  of  the  arid  and 
humid  regions. 

Gravel  seams.  —  It  need  be  said,  however,  that 
in  a  number  of  localities  in  the  dry-farm  territory 
the  soils  have  been  deposited  by  the  action  of  running 
water  in  such  a  way  that  the  otherwise  uniform 
structure  of  the  soil  is  broken  by  occasional  layers 
of  loose  gravel.  While  this  is  not  a  very  serious 
obstacle  to  the  downward  penetration  of  roots,  it 
is  very  serious  in  dry-farming,  since  any  break  in 
the  continuity  of  the  soil  mass  prevents  the  upward 
movement  of  water  stored  in  the  lower  soil  depths. 
The  dry-farmer  should  investigate  the  soil  which  he 
intends  to  use  to  a  depth  of  at  least  8  to  10  feet  to 
make  sure,  first  of  all,  that  he  has  a  continuous  soil 
mass,  not  t<  ><  i  clayey  in  the  lower  depths,  nor  broken 
by  deposits  of  gravel. 

Hard  pan.  —  Instead  of  the  heavy  clay  subsoil  of 
humid    regions,    the    so-called   hardpan    occurs   in 


HUMID   AND   DRY-FARM   SOILS 


63 


10 


HUMID 
SOIL 


|  CLAY  OR  | 

still  or 

i   GRAVEL | 

i£liP# 


ARID 
SOIL 


:V*flg 


I  UNIFORM 

&    501 IL 
i  *MASS " 


ARID  SOIL 
FAULTY 


SOI  L 


Fig.  18.  Difference  in  structure  between  humid  and  arid  soil.  The  third 
section,  though  arid,  is  questionable  for  dry-farming.  The  gravel 
streaks  break  the  continuity  of  the  soil  mass.  (Adapted  from  Hil- 
gard.) 


64  DRY-FARMING 

regions  of  limited  rainfall.  The  annual  rainfall, 
which  is  approximately  constant,  penetrates  from 
year  to  year  very  nearly  to  the  same  depth.  Some 
of  the  lime  found  so  abundantly  in  arid  soils  is  dis- 
solved and  worked  down  yearly  to  the  lower  limit  of 
the  rainfall  and  left  there  to  enter  into  combination 
with  other  soil  ingredients.  Continued  through  long 
periods  of  time  this  results  in  the  formation  of  a 
layer  of  calcareous  material  at  the  average  depth  to 
which  the  rainfall  has  penetrated  the  soil.  Not 
only  is  the  lime  thus  carried  down,  but  the  finer 
particles  are  carried  down  in  like  manner.  Espe- 
cially where  the  soil  is  poor  in  lime  is  the  clay  worked 
down  to  form  a  somewhat  clayey  hardpan.  A  hard- 
pan  formed  in  such  a  manner  is  frequently  a  serious 
obstacle  to  the  downward  movement  of  the  roots, 
and.  also  prevents  the  annual  precipitation  from 
moving  down  far  enough  to  be  beyond  the  influence 
of  the  sunshine  and  winds.  It  is  fortunate,  how- 
ever, that  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  this 
hardpan  gradually  disappears  under  the  influence  of 
proper  methods  of  dry-farm  tillage.  Deep  plowing 
and  proper  tillage,  which  allow  the  rain  waters  to 
penetrate  the  soil,  gradually  break  up  and  destroy 
the  hardpan,  even  when  it  is  10  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. Nevertheless,  the  farmer  should  make  sure 
whether  or  not  the  hardpan  does  exist  in  the  soil 
and  plan  his  methods  accordingly.  If  a  hardpan 
is  present,  the  land  must  be  fallowed  more  carefully 


LEACHING    IN   DRY-FARM    SOILS  65 

every  other  year,  so  that  a  large  quantity  of  water 
may  be  stored  in  the  soil  to  open  and  destroy  the 
hardpan. 

Of  course,  in  arid  as  in  humid  countries,  it  often 
happens  that  a  soil  .is  underlaid,  more  or  less  near  the 
surface,  by  layers  of  rock,  marl  deposits,  and  similar 
impervious  or  hurtful  substances.  Such  deposits 
are  not  to  be  classed  with  the  hardpans  that  occur 
normally  wherever  the  rainfall  is  small. 

Leaching.  —  Fully  as  important  as  any  of  the 
differences  above  outlined  are  those  which  depend 
definitely  upon  the  leaching  power  of  a  heavy  rain- 
fall. In  countries  where  the  rainfall  is  30  inches  or 
over,  and  in  many  places  where  the  rainfall  is  con- 
siderably less,  the  water  drains  through  the  soil  into 
the  standing  ground  water.  There  is,  therefore,  in 
humid  countries,  a  continuous  drainage  through  the 
soil  after  every  rain,  and  in  general  there  is  a  steady 
downward  movement  of  soil-water  throughout  the 
year.  As  is  clearly  shown  by  the  appearance,  taste, 
and  chemical  composition  of  drainage  waters,  this 
process  leaches  out  considerable  quantities  of  the 
soluble  constituents  of  the  soil. 

When  the  soil  contains  decomposing  organic 
matter,  such  as  roots,  leaves,  stalks,  the  gas  carbon 
dioxid  is  formed,  which,  when  dissolved  in  water, 
forms  a  solution  of  great  solvent  power.  Water 
passing  through  well-cultivated  soils  containing  much 
humus  leaches  out  very  much  more  material  than 


66  DRY-FARMING 

pure  water  could  do.  A  study  of  the  composition 
of  the  drainage  waters  from  soils  and  the  waters  of 
the  great  rivers  shows  that  immense  quantities  of 
soluble  soil  constituents  are  taken  out  of  the  soil 
in  countries  of  abundant  rainfall.  These  materials 
ultimately  reach  the  ocean,  where  they  are  and  have 
been  concentrated  throughout  the  ages.  In  short, 
the  saltiness  of  the  ocean  is  due  to  the  substances 
that  have  been  washed  from  the  soils  in  countries 
of  abundant  rainfall. 

In  arid  regions,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rainfall 
penetrates  the  soil  only  a  few  feet.  In  time,  it  is 
returned  to  the  surface  by  the  action  of  plants  or 
sunshine  and  evaporated  into  the  air.  It  is  true 
that  under  proper  methods  of  tillage  even  the  light 
rainfall  of  arid  and  semiarid  regions  may  be  made  to 
pass  to  considerable  soil  depths,  yet  there  is  little 
if  any  drainage  of  water  through  the  soil  into  the 
standing  ground  water.  The  arid  regions  of  the 
world,  therefore,  contribute  proportionately  a  small 
amount  of  the  substances  which  make  up  the  salt 

of  the  sea. 

Alkali  toils.  —  Under  favorable  conditions  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  soluble  materials,  which 
would  normally  be  washed  out  of  humid  soils,  accu- 
mulate to  so  large  a  degree  in  arid  soils  as  to  make 
the  lands  unfitted  for  agricultural  purposes.  Such 
lands  are  called  alkali  lands.  Unwise  irrigation  in 
arid  climates  frequently  produces  alkali  spots,  but 


DRY-FARM   SOILS 


67 


many  occur  naturally.  Such  soils  should  not  be 
chosen  for  dry-farm  purposes,  for  they  are  likely  to 
give  trouble. 


Fig.  19.     Typical  deep  arid  soil,  well  adapted  for  dry-farming.      Utah. 

Plant-food  content.  —  This    condition    necessarily 
leads  at  once  to  the  suggestion  that  the  soils  from  the 


68 


DRY-FARMING 


two  regions  must  differ  greatly  in  their  fertility  or 
power  to  produce  and  sustain  plant  life.  It  cannot 
be  believed  that  the  water-washed  soils  of  the  East 
retain  as  much  fertility  as  the  dry  soils  of  the  West. 
Hilgard  has  made  a  long  and  elaborate  study  of  this 
somewhat  difficult  question  and  has  constructed  a 
table  showing  the  composition  of  typical  soils  of 
representative  states  in  the  arid  and  humid  regions. 
The  following  table  shows  a  few  of  the  average  results 
obtained  bv  him :  — 


Source  of 
Soil 


Number 

OF 

Samples 


Partial  Percentage  Composition 


Analyzed  Insoluble  Soluble  A],1T,-   „  T  •     - 
Residue     Silica    Alumina  Lime 


Humid  region 
Arid  region 


696 
573 


84.17 
69.16 


4.04 
6.71 


3.66 
7.61 


0.13 
1.43 


Phos- 

Potash  phoric  Humus 

acid 


0.21 
0.67 


0.12 
0.16 


1.22 

1.13 


Soil  chemists  have  generally  attempted  to  arrive 
at  a  determination  of  the  fertility  of  soil  by  treating 
a  carefully  selected  and  prepared  sample  with  a 
certain  amount  of  acid  of  definite  strength.  The 
portion  which  dissolves  under  the  influence  of  acids 
has  been  looked  upon  as  a  rough  measure  of  the  pos- 
sible fertility  of  the  soil. 

The  column  headed  "Insoluble  Residue"  shows 
the  average  proportions  of  arid  and  humid  soils 
which  remain  undissolved  by  acids.  It  is  evident 
at  once  that  the  humid  soils  are  much  less  soluble 


CONTENT   OF   DRY-FARM   SOILS  69 

in  acids  than  arid  soils,  the  difference  being  84  to 
69.  Since  the  only  plant-food  in  soils  that  may  be 
used  for  plant  production  is  that  which  is  soluble, 
it  follows  that  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  arid  soils  are 
generally  more  fertile  than  humid  soils.  This  is 
borne  out  by  a  study  of  the  constituents  of  the  soil. 
For  instance,  potash,  one  of  the  essential  plant 
foods  ordinarily  present  in  sufficient  amount,  is  found 
in  humid  soils  to  the  extent  of  0.21  per  cent,  while  in 
arid  soils  the  quantity  present  is  0.67  per  cent,  or  over 
three  times  as  much.  Phosphoric  acid,  another. of 
the  very  important  plant-foods,  is  present  in  arid 
soils  in  only  slightly  higher  quantities  than  in  humid 
soils.  This  explains  the  somewhat  well-known  fact 
that  the  first  fertilizer  ordinarily  required  by  arid 
soils  is  some  form  of  phosphorus. 

The  difference  in  the  chemical  composition  of  arid 
and  humid  soils  is  perhaps  shown  nowhere  better 
than  in  the  lime  content.  There  is  nearly  eleven 
times  more  lime  in  arid  than  in  humid  soils.  Con- 
ditions of  aridity  favor  strongly  the  formation  of 
lime,  and  since  there  is  very  little  leaching  of  the  soil 
by  rainfall,  the  lime  accumulates  in  the  soil. 

The  presence  of  large  quantities  of  lime  in  arid 
soils  has  a  number  of  distinct  advantages,  among 
which  the  following  are  most  important :  (1)  It 
prevents  the  sour  condition  frequently  present  in 
humid  climates,  where  much  organic  material  is 
incorporated  with  the  soil.     (2)  When  other  con- 


70  DRY-FARMING 

ditions  are  favorable,  it  encourages  bacterial  life, 
which,  as  is  now  a  well-known  fact,  is  an  important 
factor  in  developing  and  maintaining  soil  fertility. 
(3)  By  somewhat  subtle  chemical  changes  it  makes 
the  relatively  small  percentages  of  other  plant-foods, 
notably  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  more  available 
for  plant  growth.  (4)  It  aids  to  convert  rapidly 
organic  matter  into  humus  which  represents  the  main 
portion  of  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soil. 

Of  course,  an  excess  of  lime  in  the  soil  may  be 
hurtful,  though  less  so  in  arid  than  in  humid  re- 
gions. Some  authors  state  that  from  8  to  20  per 
cent  of  calcium  carbonate  makes  a  soil  unfitted  for 
plant  growth.  There  are,  however,  a  great  many 
agricultural  soils  covering  large  areas  and  yielding 
very  abundant  crops  which  contain  very  much  larger 
quantities  of  calcium  carbonate.  For  instance,  in 
the  Sanpete  Valley  of  Utah,  one  of  the  most  fertile 
sections  of  the  Great  Basin,  agricultural  soils  often 
contain  as  high  as  40  per  cent  of  calcium  carbonate, 
without  injury  to  their  crop-producing  power. 

In  the  table  are  two  columns  headed  "Soluble 
Silica"  and  "Alumina,"  in  both  of  which  it  is  evident 
that  a  very  much  larger  per  cent  is  found  in  the  arid 
than  in  the  humid  soils.  These  soil  constituents 
indicate  the  condition  of  the  soil  with  reference  to 
the  availability  of  its  fertility  for  plant  use.  The 
higher  the  percentage  of  soluble  silica  and  alumina, 
the  more  thoroughly  decomposed,  in  all  probability, 


COMPOSITION   OF   DRY-FARM   SOILS  7l 

is  the  soil  as  a  whole  and  the  more  readily  can  plants 
secure  their  nutriment  from  the  soil.  It  will  be 
observed  from  the  table,  as  previously  stated,  that 
more  humus  is  found  in  humid  than  in  arid  soils, 
though  the  difference  is  not  so  large  as  might  be  ex- 
pected. It  should  be  recalled,  however,  that  the 
nitrogen  content  of  humus  formed  under  rainless 
conditions  is  many  times  larger  than  that  of  humus 
formed  in  rainy  countries,  and  that  the  smaller  per 
cent  of  humus  in  dry-farming  countries  is  thereby 
offset. 

All  in  all,  the  composition  of  arid  soils  is  very 
much  more  favorable  to  plant  growth  than  that  of 
humid  soils.  As  will  be  shown  in  Chapter  IX,  the 
greater  fertility  of  arid  soils  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons 
for  dry-farming  success.  Depth  of  the  soil  alone 
does  not  suffice.  There  must  be  a  large  amount  of 
high  fertility  available  for  plants  in  order  that  the 
small  amount  of  water  can  be  fully  utilized  in  plant 
growth. 

Summary  of  characteristics.  —  Arid  soils  differ 
from  humid  soils  in  that  they  contain:  less  clay; 
more  sand,  but  of  fertile  nature  because  it  is  derived 
from  rocks  that  in  humid  countries  would  produce 
clay ;  less  humus,  but  that  of  a  kind  which  contains 
about  3^  times  more  nitrogen  than  the  humus  of 
humid  soils ;  more  lime,  which  helps  in  a  variety  of 
ways  to  improve  the  agricultural  value  of  soils; 
more  of  all  the  essential  plant-foods,  because  the 


Fiu.  20.     Gravelly  soil.    Not  adapted  for  dry-farming. 


SUMMARY   ON   DRY-FARM    SOILS  73 

leaching  by  downward  drainage  is  very  small  in 
countries  of  limited  rainfall. 

Further,  arid  soils  show  no  real  difference  between 
soil  and  subsoil;  they  are  deeper  and  more  perme- 
able;- they  are  more  uniform  in  structure;  they 
have  hardpans  instead  of  clay  subsoil,  which,  how- 
ever, disappear  under  the  influence  of  cultivation; 
their  subsoils  to  a  depth  of  ten  feet  or  more  are  as 
fertile  as  the  topsoil,  and  the  availability  of  the 
fertility  is  greater.  The  failure  to  recognize  these 
characteristic  differences  between  arid  and  humid 
soils  has  been  the  chief  cause  for  many  crop  failures 
in  the  more  or  less  rainless  regions  of  the  world. 

This  brief  review  shows  that,  everything  considered, 
arid  soils  are  superior  to  humid  soils.  In  ease  of 
handling,  productivity,  certainty  of  crop-lasting 
quality  >  they  far  surpass  the  soils  of  the  countries 
in  which  scientific  agriculture  was  founded.  As 
Hilgard  has  suggested,  the  historical  datum  that  the 
majority  of  the  most  populous  and  powerful  histor- 
ical peoples  of  the  world  have  been  located  on  soils 
that  thirst  for  water,  may  find  its  explanation  in  the 
intrinsic  value  of  arid  soils.  From  Babylon  to  the 
United  States  is  a  far  cry;  but  it  is  one  that  shouts 
to  the  world  the  superlative  merits  of  the  soil  that 
begs  for  water.  To  learn  how  to  use  the  " desert" 
is  to  make  it  "  blossom  like  the  rose." 


74  DRY-FARMING 

Soil  divisions 

The  dry-farm  territory  of  the  United  States  may 
be  divided  roughly  into  five  great  soil  districts,  each 
of  which  includes  a  great  variety  of  soil  types,  most 
of  which  are  poorly  known  and  mapped.  These 
districts  are :  — 

1.  Great  Plains  district. 

2.  Columbia  River  district. 

3.  Great  Basin  district. 

4.  Colorado  River  district. 

5.  California  district. 

Great  Plains  district.  —  On  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending  eastward  to  the 
extreme  boundary  of  the  dry-farm  territory,  are  the 
soils  of  the  High  Plains  and  the  Great  Plains.  This 
vast  soil  district  belongs  to  the  drainage  basin  of  the 
Missouri,  and  includes  North  and  South  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma,  and  parts  of  Mon- 
tana, Wyoming,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and 
Minnesota.  The  soils  of  this  district  are  usually  of 
high  fertility.  They  have  good  lasting  power, 
though  the  effect  of  the  higher  rainfall  is  evident  in 
their  composition.  Many  of  the  distinct  types  of 
the  plains  soils  have  been  determined  with  consider- 
able care  by  Snyder  and  Lyon,  and  may  be  found 
described  in  Bailey's  "  Cyclopedia  of  American  Agri- 
culture/' Vol.  I. 

Columbia  River  district.  —  The  second  great  soil 


DISTRICTS    OF   DRY-FARM    SOILS  75 

district  of  the  dry-farming  territory  is  located  in 
the  drainage  basin  of  the  Columbia  River,  and 
includes  Idaho  and  the  eastern  two  thirds  of  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon.  The  high  plains  of  this  soil 
district  are  often  spoken  of  as  the  Palouse  country. 
The  soils  of  the  western  part  of  this  district  are  of 
basaltic  origin;  over  the  southern  part  of  Idaho  the 
soils  have  been  made  from  a  somewhat  recent  lava 
flow  which  in  many  places  is  only  a  few  feet  below 
the  surface.  The  soils  of  this  district  are  generally 
of  volcanic  origin  and  very  much  alike.  They  are 
characterized  by  the  properties  which  normally 
belong  to  volcanic  soils;  somewhat  poor  in  lime, 
but  rich  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  They 
last  well  under  ordinary  methods  of  tillage. 

The  Great  Basin.  —  The  third  great  soil  district 
is  included  in  the  Great  Basin,  which  covers  nearly 
all  of  Nevada,  half  of  Utah,  and  takes  small  portions 
out  of  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  southern  California. 
This  basin  has  no  outlet  to  the  sea.  Its  rivers  empty 
into  great  saline  inland  lakes,  the  chief  of  which  is 
the  Great  Salt  Lake.  The  sizes  of  these  interior 
lakes  are  determined  by  the  amounts  of  water  flow- 
ing into  them  and  the  rates  of  evaporation  of  the 
water  into  the  dry  air  of  the  region. 

In  recent  geological  times,  the  Great  Basin  was 
filled  with  water,  forming  a  vast  fresh-water  lake 
known  as  Lake  Bonneville,  which  drained  into  the 
Columbia  River.     During  the  existence  of  this  lake 


76  DRY-FARMING 

soil  materials  were  washed  from  the  mountains  into 
the  lake  and  deposited  on  the  lake  bottom.  When, 
at  length,  the  lake  disappeared,  the  lake  bottom 
was  exposed  and  is  now  the  farming  lands  of  the 
Great  Basin  district.  The  soils  of  this  district  are 
characterized  by  great  depth  and  uniformity,  an 
abundance  of  lime,  and  all  the  essential  plant-foods 
with  the  exception  of  phosphoric  acid,  which,  while 
present  in '  normal  quantities,  is  not  unusually 
abundant.  The  Great  Basin  soils  are  among  the 
most  fertile  on  the  American  Continent. 

Colorado  River  district.  —  The  fourth  soil  district 
lies  in  the  drainage  basin  of  the  Colorado  River. 
It  includes  much  of  the  southern  part  of  Utah,  the 
eastern  part  of  Colorado,  part  of  New  Mexico,  nearly 
all  of  Arizona,  and  part  of  southern  California.  This 
district,  in  its  northern  part,  is  often  spoken  of  as 
the  High  Plateaus.  The  soils  are  formed  from  the 
easily  disintegrated  rocks  of  comparatively  recent 
geological  origin,  which  themselves  are  said  to  have 
been  formed  from  deposits  in  a  shallow  interior  sea 
which  covered  a  large  part  of  the  West.  The  rivers 
running  through  this  district  have  cut  immense 
canons  with  perpendicular  walls  which  make  much 
of  this  country  difficult  to  traverse.  Some  of  the 
soils  are  of  an  extremely  fine  nature,  settling  firmly 
and  requiring  considerable  tillage  before  they  are 
brought  to  a  proper  condition  of  tilth.  In  many 
places  the  soils  are  heavily  charged  with  calcium 


DISTRICTS   OF   DRY-FARM    SOILS  77 

sulphate,  or  crystals  of  the  ordinary  land  plaster. 
The  fertility  of  the  soils,  however,  is  high,  and  when 
they  are  properly  cultivated,  they  yield  large  and 
excellent  crops. 

California  district.  —  The  fifth  soil  district  lies 
in  California  in  the  basin  of  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  rivers.  The  soils  are  of  the  typical 
arid  kind  of  high  fertility  and  great  lasting  powers. 
They  represent  some  of  the  most  valuable  dry-farm 
districts  of  the  West.  These  soils  have  been  studied 
in  detail  by  Hilgard. 

Dry-farming  in  the  five  districts.  —  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  in  all  of  these  five  great  soil  districts 
dry-farming  has  been  tried  with  great  success. 
Even  in  the  Great  Basin  and  the  Colorado  River 
districts,  where  extreme  desert  conditions  often 
prevail  and  where  the  rainfall  is  slight,  it  has  been 
found  possible  to  produce  profitable  crops  without 
irrigation.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  study  of  the 
dry-farming  territory  of  the  United  States  has  not 
progressed  far  enough  to  permit  a  comprehensive 
and  correct  mapping  of  its  soils.  Our  knowledge 
of  this  subject  is,  at  the  best,  fragmentary.  We 
know,  however,  with  certainty  that  the  properties 
which  characterize  arid  soils,  as  described  in  this 
chapter,  are  possessed  by  the  soils  of  the  dry-farming 
territory,  including  the  five  great  districts  just 
enumerated.  The  characteristics  of  arid  soils  in- 
crease as  the  rainfall  decreases  and  other  conditions 


78  DRY-FARMING 

of  aridity  increase.  They  are  less  marked  as  we  go 
eastward  or  westward  toward  the  regions  of  more 
abundant  rainfall;  that  is  to  say,  the  most  highly 
developed  arid  soils  are  found  in  the  Great  Basin 
and  Colorado  River  districts.  The  least  developed 
are  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Great  Plains. 


The  judging  of  soils 

A  chemical  analysis  of  a  soil,  unless  accompanied 
by  a  large  amount  of  other  information,  is  of  little 
value  to  the  farmer.  The  main  points  in  judging  a 
prospective  dry-farm  are:  the  depth  of  the  soil,  the 
uniformity  of  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  at  least  10  feet, 
the  native  vegetation,  the  climatic  conditions  as 
relating  to  early  and  late  frosts,  the  total  annual  rain- 
fall and  its  distribution,  and  the  kinds  and  yields  of 
crops  that  have  been  grown  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  depth  of  the  soil  is  best  determined  by  the  use 
of  an  auger  (Fig.  21).  A  simple  soil  auger  is  made 
from  the  ordinary  carpenter's  auger,  1^-  to  2  inches 
in  diameter,  by  lengthening  its  shaft  to  3  feet  or 
more.  Where  it  is  not  desirable  to  carry  sectional 
augers,  it  is  often  advisable  to  have  three  augers 
made :  one  3  feet,  the  other  6,  and  the  third  9  or  10 
feet  in  length.  The  short  auger  is  used  first  and  the 
others  afterwards  as  the  depth  of  the  boring  in- 
creases. The  boring  should  be  made  in  a  large 
number  of  average  places  —  preferably  one  boring  or 


JUDGING   DRY-FARM   SOILS 


79 


more  on  each  acre  if  time  and  circumstances  permit 
—  and  the  results  entered  on  a  map  of  the  farm. 
The  uniformity    of    the    soil    is    observed    as    the 
boring  progresses. 
If  gravel  layers  ex- 
ist, they  will  neces- 
sarily stop  the  prog- 
ress of  the   boring. 
Hardpans  of  any 
kind  will  also  be  re- 
vealed by  such   an 
examination. 

The  climatic  in- 
formation must  be 
gathered  from  the 
local  weather  bureau 
and  from  older  resi- 
dents of  the  section. 

The  native  vege- 
tation is  always  an 
excellent  index  of 
dry-farm  possibil- 
ities.     If   a   good 

Stand    Of    native    Fig.  21.     Soil  augers.    The  subsoil  of  every 

grasses  exists,  there  t^£^  **  ^  by  mea" 
can  scarcely  be  any 

doubt  about  the  ultimate  success  of  dry-farming 
under  proper  cultural  methods.  A  healthy  crop  of 
sagebrush  is  an  almost  absolutely  certain  indication 


80  DRY-FARMING 

that  farming  without  irrigation  is  feasible.  The 
rabbit  brush  of  the  drier  regions  is  also  usually  a  good 
indication,  though  it  frequently  indicates  a  soil  not 
easily  handled.  Greasewood,  shadseale,  and  other 
related  plants  ordinarily  indicate  heavy  clay  soils, 
frequently  charged  with  alkali.  Such  soils  should  be 
the  last  choice  for  dry-farming  purposes,  though  they 
usually  give  good  satisfaction  under  systems  of  irriga- 
tion. If  the  native  cedar  or  other  native  trees  grow 
in  profusion,  it  is  another  indication  of  good  dry- 
farm  possibilities. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  ROOT  SYSTEMS  OF  PLANTS 

The  great  depth  and  high  fertility  of  the  soils  of 
arid  and  semiarid  regions  have  made  possible  the 
profitable  production  of  agricultural  plants  under  a 
rainfall  very  much  lower  than  that  of  humid  regions. 
To  make  the  principles  of  this  system  fully  under- 
stood, it  is  necessary  to  review  briefly  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  root  systems  of  plants  growing  under 
arid  conditions. 

Functions  of  roots 

The  roots  serve  at  least  three  distinct  uses  or 
purposes:  First,  they  give  the  plant  a  foothold  in 
the  earth;  secondly,  they  enable  the  plant  to  secure 
from  the  soil  the  large  amount  of  water  needed  in 
plant  growth,  and,  thirdly,  they  enable  the  plant 
to  secure  the  indispensable  mineral  foods  which  can 
be  obtained  only  from  the  soil.  So  important  is 
the  proper  supply  of  water  and  food  in  the  growth 
of  a  plant  that,  in  a  given  soil,  the  crop  yield  is  usu- 
ally in  direct  proportion  to  the  development  of  the 
root  system.  Whenever  the  roots  are  hindered  in 
their  development,  the  growth  of  the  plant  above 

G  81 


82 


DRY-FARMING 


Fig.  22.     Wheat  roots. 


ground  is  likewise  re- 
tarded, and  crop  failure 
may  result.  The  impor- 
tance of  roots  is  not  fully 
appreciated  because  they 
are  hidden  from  direct 
view.  Successful  dry- 
farming  consists,  largely, 
in  the  adoption  of  prac- 
tices that  facilitate  a  full 
and  free  development  of 
plant  roots.  Were  it  not 
that  the  nature  of  arid 
soils,  as  explained  in  pre- 
ceding chapters,  is  such 
that  full  root  develop- 
ment is  comparatively 
easy,  it  would  probably 
be  useless  to  attempt  to 
establish  a  system  of  dry- 
farming. 

Kinds  of  roots 

The  root  is  the  part  of 
the  plant  that  is  found 
underground.  It  has  nu- 
merous branches,  twigs, 
and  filaments.     The  root 


THE  ROOT  SYSTEMS  OF  PLANTS 


83 


which  first  forms 
when  the  seed  bursts 
is  known  as  the  pri- 
mary root.  From  this 
primary  root  other 
roots  develop,  which 
are  known  as  second- 
ary roots.  When  the 
primary  root  grows 
more  rapidly  than  the 
secondary  roots,  the 
so-called  taproot,, 
characteristic  of  lu- 
cern,  clover,  and  sim- 
ilar plants,  is  formed. 
When,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  taproot 
grows  slowly  or  ceases 
its  growth,  and  the 
numerous  secondary 
roots  grow  long,  a 
fibrous  root  system 
results,  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  ce- 
reals, grasses,  corn, 
and  other  similar 
plants.  With  any 
type  of  root,  the  tend- 
ency   of    growth    is 


Alfalfa  roots. 


84  DRY-FARMING 

downward;  though  under  conditions  that  are  not 
favorable  for  the  downward  penetration  of  the  roots 
the  lateral  extensions  may  be  very  large  and  near  the 
surface  (Pigs.  22,  23). 

Extent  of  roots 

A  number  of  investigators  have  attempted  to 
determine  the  weight  of  the  roots  as  compared 
with  the  weight  of  the  plant  above  ground,  but  the 
subject,  because  of  its  great  experimental  difficul- 
ties, has  not  been  very  accurately  explained.  Schu- 
macher, experimenting  about  1867,  found  that  the 
roots  of  a  well-established  field  of  clover  weighed  as 
much  as  the  total  we  ght  of  the  stems  and  leaves  of 
the  year's  crop,  and  that  the  weight  of  roots  of  an 
oat  crop  was  43  per  cent  of  the  total  weight  of  seed 
and  straw.  Xobbe,  a  few  years  later,  found  in  one 
of  his  experiments  that  the  roots  of  timothy  weighed 
31  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  hay.  Hosseus, 
investigating  the  same  subject  about  the  same  time, 
found  that  the  weight  of  roots  of  one  of  the  brome 
grasses  was  as  great  as  the  weight  of  the  part  above 
ground ;  of  serradella,  77 per  cent :  of  flax,  34  per  cent : 
of  oats,  14  per  cent;  of  barley,  13  per  cent,  and  of 
peas,  9  per  cent.  Sanborn,  working  at  the  Utah 
Station  in  1893,  found  results  very  much  the  same. 

Although  these  results  are  not  concordant,  they 
show  that  the  weight  of  the  roots  is  considerable, 


EXTENT   OF   THE    ROOT   SYSTEMS  85 

in  many  cases  far  beyond  the  belief  of  those  who  have 
given  the  subject  little  or  no  attention.  It  may  be 
noted  that  on  the  basis  of  the  figures  above  obtained, 
it  is  very  probable  that  the  roots  in  one  acre  of  an 
average  wheat  crop  would  weigh  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  a  thousand  pounds  —  possibly  consider- 
ably more.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the 
investigations  which  yielded  the  preceding  results 
were  all  conducted  in  humid  climates  and  at  a  time 
when  the  methods  for  the  study  of  the  root  systems 
were  poorly  developed.  The  data  obtained,  there- 
fore, represent,  in  all  probability,  minimum  results 
which  would  be  materially  increased  should  the  work 
be  repeated  now. 

The  relative  weights  of  the  roots  and  the  stems  and 
the  leaves  do  not  alone  show  the  large  quantity 
of  roots ;  the  total  lengths  of  the  roots  are  even  more 
striking.  The  German  investigator,  Nobbe,  in  a 
laborious  experiment  conducted  about  1867,  added 
the  lengths  of  all  the  fine  roots  from  each  of  various 
plants.  He  found  that  the  total  length  of  roots,  that 
is,  the  sum  of  the  lengths  of  all  the  roots,  of  one  wheat 
plant  was  about  268  feet,  and  that  the  total  length 
of  the  roots  of  one  plant  of  rye  was  about  385  feet. 
King,  of  Wisconsin,  estimates  that  in  one  of  his  ex- 
periments, one  corn  plant  produced  in  the  upper  3 
feet  of  soil  1452  feet  of  roots.  These  surprisingly 
large  numbers  indicate  with  emphasis  the  thorough- 
ness  with  which   the  roots  invade   the   soil.     Fig- 


86  DRY-FARMING 

ures  22-26  further  give  an  idea  of   the  degree  to 
which  roots  fill  the  soil. 


Depth  of  root  penetration 

The  earlier  root  studies  did  not  pretend  to  deter- 
mine the  depth  to  which  roots  actually  penetrate 
the  earth.  In  recent  years,  however,  a  number  of 
carefully  conducted  experiments  were  made  by  the 
New  York,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Colorado, 
and  especially  the  North  Dakota  stations  to  obtain 
accurate  information  concerning  the  depth  to  which 
agricultural  plants  penetrate  soils.  It  is  some- 
what regrettable,  for  the  purpose  of  dry-farming, 
that  these  states,  with  the  exception  of  Colorado, 
are  all  in  the  humid  or  sub-humid  area  of  the  United 
States.  Nevertheless,  the  conclusions  drawn  from 
the  work  are  such  that  they  may  be  safely  applied 
in  the  development  of  the  principles  of  dry-farming. 

There  is  a  general  belief  among  farmers  that  the 
roots  of  all  cultivated  crops  are  very  near  the  surface 
and  that  few  reach  a  greater  depth  than  one  or  two 
feet.  The  first  striking  result  of  the  American  inves- 
tigations was  that  every  crop,  without  exception, 
penetrates  the  soil  deeper  than  was  thought  possible 
in  earlier  days.  For  example,  it  was  found  that 
corn  roots  penetrated  fully  four  feet  into  the  ground 
and  that  they  fully  occupied  all  of  the  soil  to  that 
depth. 


DEPTH    OF   ROOT   SYSTEMS 


87 


On  deeper  and  somewhat  drier  soils,  corn  roots 
went  down  as  far  as  eight  feet.    The  roots  of  the 


Fig.  24.     Sugar-beet  roots. 


small  grains,  —  wheat,  oats,  barley,  —  penetrated 
the  soil  from  four  to  eight  or  ten  feet.  Vari- 
ous perennial  grasses  rooted  to  a  depth  of  four  feet 
the  first  year;  the  next  year,  five  and  one  half  feet; 


88  DRY-FARMING 

no  determinations  were  made  of  the  depth  of  the 
roots  in  later  years,  though  it  had  undoubtedly 
increased.  Alfalfa  was  the  deepest  rooted  of  all 
the  crops  studied  by  the  American  stations.  Potato 
roots  filled  the  soil  fully  to  a  depth  of  three  feet; 
sugar  beets  to  a  depth  of  nearly  four  feet. 

In  every  case,  under  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
experiments,  and  which  did  not  have  in  mind  the 
forcing  of  the  roots  down  to  extraordinary  depths, 
it  seemed  that  the  normal  depth  of  the  roots  of  ordi- 
nary field  crops  was  from  three  to  eight  feet.  Sub- 
soiling  and  deep  plowing  enable  the  roots  to  go 
deeper  into  the  soil.  This  work  has  been  confirmed 
in  ordinary  experience  until  there  can  be  little  ques- 
tion about  the  accuracy  of  the  results. 

Almost  all  of  these  results  were  obtained  in  humid 
climates  on  humid  soils,  somewhat  shallow,  and 
underlaid  by  a  more  or  less  infertile  subsoil.  In 
fact,  they  were  obtained  under  conditions  really 
unfavorable  to  plant  growth.  It  has  been  explained 
in  Chapter  V  that  soils  formed  under  arid  or  semi- 
arid  conditions  are  uniformly  deep  and  porous  and 
that  the  fertility  of  the  subsoil  is,  in  most  cases, 
practically  as  great  as  of  the  topsoil.  There  is, 
therefore,  in  arid  soils,  an  excellent  opportunity 
for  a  comparatively  easy  penetration  of  the  roots 
to  great  depths  and,  because  of  the  available  fertility, 
a  chance  throughout  the  whole  of  the  subsoil  for 
ample    root    development.     Moreover,    the    porous 


ROOT   SYSTEMS    IN   ARID    SOILS 


89 


condition  of  the  soil  permits  the  entrance  of  air,  which 
helps  to  purify  the  soil  atmosphere  and  thereby  to 
make  the  conditions  more  favorable  for  root  develop- 
ment.    Consequently  it  is  to  be  expected  that,  in 


up 


11 


Fig.  25.     Corn  roots. 

arid  regions,  roots  will  ordinarily  go  to  a  much  greater 
depth  than  in  humid  regions. 

It  is  further  to  be  remembered  that  roots  are  in 
constant  search  of  food  and  water  and  are  likely  to 
develop  in  the  directions  where  there  is  the  greatest 
abundance  of  these  materials,  ruder  systems  of 
dry-farming  the  soil  water  is  stored  more  or  less 
uniformly  to  considerable  depths  —  ten  feet  or  more 
—  and  in  most  cases  the  percentage  of  moisture  in 


90  DRY-FARMING 

the  spring  and  summer  is  as  large  or  larger  some  feet 
below  the  surface  than  in  the  upper  two  feet.  The 
tendency  of  the  root  is,  then,  to  move  downward  to 
depths  where  there  is  a  larger  supply  of  water. 
Especially  is  this  tendency  increased  by  the  avail- 
able soil  fertility  found  throughout  the  whole  depth 
of  the  soil  mass. 

It  has  been  argued  that  in  many  of  the  irrigated 
sections  the  roots  do  not  penetrate  the  soil  to 
great  depths.  This  is  true,  because  by  the  present 
wasteful  methods  of  irrigation  the  plant  receives  so 
much  water  at  such  untimely  seasons  that  the  roots 
acquire  the  habit  of  feeding  very  near  the  surface 
where  the  water  is  so  lavishly  applied.  This  means 
not  only  that  the  plant  suffers  more  greatly  in  times 
of  drouth,  but  that,  since  the  feeding  ground  of  the 
roots  is  smaller,  the  crop  is  likely  to  be  small. 

These  deductions  as  to  the  depth  to  which  plant 
roots  will  penetrate  the  soil  in  arid  regions  are  fully 
corroborated  by  experiments  and  general  observa- 
tion. The  workers  of  the  Utah  Station  have  repeat- 
edly observed  plant  roots  on  dry-farms  to  a  depth 
of  ten  feet.  Lucern  roots  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet 
in  length  are  frequently  exposed  in  the  gullies  formed 
by  the  mountain  torrents.  Roots  of  trees,  similarly, 
go  down  to  great  depths.  Hilgard  observes  that 
he  has  found  roots  of  grapevines  at  a  depth  of 
twenty-two  feet  below  the  surface,  and  quotes  Aughey 
as  having  found  roots  of  the  native  Shepherdia  in 


ROOT   SYSTEMS   IN   ARID    SOILS 


91 


Nebraska  to  a  depth  of  fifty  feet.  Hilgard  further 
declares  that  in  California  fibrous-rooted  plants, 
such  as  wheat  and  barley,  may  descend  in  sandy 
soils  from  four  to  seven  feet.     Orchard  trees  in  the 


Fig.  26.     Difference  in  root  systems  under  humid  and  arid  conditions. 

arid  West,  grown  properly,  are  similarly  observed 
to  send  their  roots  down  to  great  depths.  In  fact, 
it  has  become  a  custom  in  many  arid  regions  where 
the  soils  are  easily  penetrable  to  say  that  the  root 
system  of  a  tree  corresponds  in  extent  and  branching 
to  the  part  of  the  tree  above  ground. 


92  DRY-FARMING 

Now,  it  is  to  be  observed  that,  generally,  plants 
grown  in  dry  climates  send  their  roots  straight  down 
into  the  soil;  whereas  in  humid  climates,  where  the 
topsoil  is  quite  moist  and  the  subsoil  is  hard,  roots 
branch  out  laterally  and  fill  the  upper  foot  or  two 
of  the  soil.  This  difference  is  made  clear  by  the 
illustrations  herewith  produced  (Fig.  26).  A  great 
deal  has  been  said  and  written  about  the  danger  of 
deep  cultivation,  because  it  tends  to  injure  the  roots 
that  feed  near  the  surface.  However  true  this  may 
be  in  humid  countries,  it  is  not  vital  in  the  districts 
primarily  interested  in  dry-farming ;  and  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  the  objection  is  as  valid  in  humid  countries  as 
is  often  declared.  True,  deep  cultivation,  especially 
when  performed  near  the  plant  or  tree,  destroys 
the  surface-feeding  roots,  but  this  only  tends  to  com- 
pel the  deeper  lying  roots  to  make  better  use  of  the 
subsoil. 

When,  as  in  arid  regions,  the  subsoil  is  fertile  and 
furnishes  a  sufficient  amount  of  water,  destroying 
the  surface  roots  is  no  handicap  whatever.  On  the 
contrary,  in  times  of  drouth,  the  deep-lying  roots 
feed  and  drink  at  their  leisure  far  from  the  hot  sun 
or  withering  winds,  and  the  plants  survive  and  arrive 
at  rich  maturity,  while  the  plants  with  shallow  roots 
wither  and  die  or  are  so  seriously  injured  as  to  pro- 
duce an  inferior  crop.  Therefore,  in  the  system  of 
dry-farming  as  developed  in  this  volume,  it  must  be 
understood  that  so  far  as  the  farmer  has  power, 


ADVANTAGE    OF   DEEP   ROOTING  93 

the  roots  must  be  driven  downward  into  the  soil, 
and  that  no  injury  needs  to  be  apprehended  from 
deep  and  vigorous  cultivation. 

One  of  the  chief  attempts  of  the  dry-farmer  must 
be  to  see  to  it  that  the  plants  root  deeply.  This  can 
be  done  only  by  preparing  the  right  kind  of  seed-bed 
and  by  having  the  soil  in  its  lower  depths  well  stored 
with  moisture,  so  that  the  plants  may  be  invited  to 
descend.  For  that  reason,  an  excess  of  moisture 
in  the  upper  soil  when  the  young  plants  are  rooting 
is  really  an  injury  to  them. 


CHAPTER  VII 

STORING   WATER   IN   THE   SOIL 

The  large  amount  of  water  required  for  the  pro- 
duction of  plant  substance  is  taken  from  the  soil  by 
the  roots.  Leaves  and  stems  do  not  absorb  appre- 
ciable quantities  of  water.  The  scanty  rainfall  of 
dry-farm  districts  or  the  more  abundant  precipita- 
tion of  humid  regions  must,  therefore,  be  made  to 
enter  the  soil  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  readily  avail- 
able as  soil-moisture  to  the  roots  at  the  right  periods 
of  plant  growth. 

In  humid  countries,  the  rain  that  falls  during  the 
growing  season  is  looked  upon,  and  very  properly,  as 
the  really  effective  factor  in  the  production  of  large 
crops.  The  root  systems  of  plants  grown  under 
such  humid  conditions  are  near  the  surface,  ready 
to  absorb  immediately  the  rains  that  fall,  even  if 
they  do  not  soak  deeply  into  the  soil.  As  has  been 
shown  in  Chapter  IV,  it  is  only  over  a  small  portion 
of  the  dry-farm  territory  that  the  bulk  of  the  scanty 
precipitation  occurs  during  the  growing  season. 
Over  a  large  portion  of  the  arid  and  semiarid  region 
the  summers  are  almost  rainless  and  the  bulk  of  the 
precipitation  comes  in  the  winter,  late  fall,  or  early 

94 


STORING   WATER   IN   THE    SOIL  95 

spring  when  plants  are  not  growing.  If  the  rains 
that  fall  during  the  growing  season  are  indispensable 
in  crop  production,  the  possible  area  to  be  reclaimed 
by  dry-farming  will  be  greatly  limited.  Even  when 
much  of  the  total  precipitation  comes  in  summer, 
the  amount  in  dry-farm  districts  is  seldom  sufficient 
for  the  proper  maturing  of  crops.  In  fact,  successful 
dry-farming  depends  chiefly  upon  the  success  with 
which  the  rains  that  fall  during  any  season  of  the 
year  may  be  stored  and  kept  in  the  soil  until  needed 
by  plants  in  their  growth.  The  fundamental  opera- 
tions of  dry-farming  include  a  soil  treatment  which 
enables  the  largest  possible  proportion  of  the  annual 
precipitation  to  be  stored  in  the  soil.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  deep,  somewhat  porous  soils,  characteristic 
of  arid  regions,  are  unusually  well  adapted. 

Alway's  demonstration 

An  important  and  unique  demonstration  of  the 
possibility  of  bringing  crops  to  maturity  on  the 
moisture  stored  in  the  soil  at  the  time  of  planting 
has  been  made  by  Alway  (Fig.  27).  Cylinders  of 
galvanized  iron,  6  feet  long,  were  filled  with  soil 
as  nearly  as  possible  in  its  natural  position  and  con- 
dition. Water  was  added  until  seepage  began,  after 
which  the  excess  was  allowed  to  drain  away.  When 
the  seepage  had  closed,  the  cylinders  were  entirely 
closed  except  at  the  surface.     Sprouted  grains  of 


LOSS   OF   RAINFALL  97 

spring  wheat  were  placed  in  the  moist  surface  soil, 
and  1  inch  of  dry  soil  added  to  the  surface  to  pre- 
vent evaporation.  No  more  water  was  added;  the 
air  of  the  greenhouse  was  kept  as  dry  as  possible. 
The  wheat  developed  normally.  The  first  ear  was 
ripe  in  132  days  after  planting  and  the  last  in  143 
days.  The  three  cylinders  of  soil  from  semiarid 
western  Nebraska  produced  37.8  grams  of  straw 
and  29  ears,  containing  415  kernels  weighing  11.188 
grams.  The  three  cylinders  of  soil  from  humid 
eastern  Nebraska  produced  only  11.2  grams  of  straw 
and  13  ears  containing  114  kernels,  weighing  3 
grams.  This  experiment  shows  conclusively  that 
rains  are  not  needed  during  the  growing  season,  if 
the  soil  is  well  filled  with  moisture  at  seedtime, 
to  bring  crops  to  maturity. 

What  becomes  of  the  rainfall  ? 

The  water  that  falls  on  the  land  is  disposed  of  in 
three  ways:  First,  under  ordinary  conditions,  a 
large  portion  runs  off  without  entering  the  soil; 
secondly,  a  portion  enters  the  soil,  but  remains  near 
the  surface,  and  is  rapidly  evaporated  back  into  the 
air;  and,  thirdly,  a  portion  enters  the  lower  soil 
layers,  from  which  it  is  removed  at  later  periods  by 
several  distinct  processes.  The  run-off  is  usually 
large  and  is  a  serious  loss,  especially  in  dry-farming 
regions,  where  the  absence  of  luxuriant  vegetation, 


98  DRY-FARMING 

the  somewhat  hard,  sun-baked  soils,  and  the  numer- 
ous drainage  channels,  formed  by  successive  tor- 
rents, combine  to  furnish  the  rains  with  an  easy 
escape  into  the  torrential  rivers.  Persons  familiar 
with  arid  conditions  know  how  quickly  the  narrow 
box  canons,  which  often  drain  thousands  of  square 
miles,  are  filled  with  roaring  water  after  a  compara- 
tively light  rainfall. 

The  run-off 

The  proper  cultivation  of  the  soil  diminishes  very 
greatly  the  loss  due  to  run-off,  but  even  on  such  soils 
the  proportion  may  often  be  very  great.  Farrel 
observed  at  one  of  the  Utah  stations  that  during  a 
torrential  rain  —  2.6  inches  in  4  hours  —  the  surface 
of  the  summer  fallowed  plats  was  packed  so  solid 
that  only  one  fourth  inch,  or  less  than  one  tenth  of 
the  whole  amount,  soaked  into  the  soil,  while  on  a 
neighboring  stubble  field,  which  offered  greater 
hindrance  to  the  run-off,  l\  inches  or  about  60  per 
cent  were  absorbed. 

It  is  not  possible  under  any  condition  to  prevent 
the  run-off  altogether,  although  it  can  usually  be 
reduced  exceedingly.  It  is  a  common  dry-farm 
custom  to  plow  along  the  slopes  of  the  farm  instead 
of  plowing  up  and  down  them.  When  this  is  done, 
the  water  which  runs  down  the  slopes  is  caught  by 
the  succession  of  furrows  and  in  that  way  the  run- 
off is  diminished.     During  the  fallow  season  the  disk 


THE   SOIL   STRUCTURE 


99 


and  smoothing  harrows  are  run  along  the  hillsides 
for  the  same  purpose  and  with  results  that  are  nearly 
always  advantageous  to  the  dry-farmer.  Of  neces- 
sity, each  man  must  study  his  own  farm  in  order  to 
devise  methods  that  will  prevent  the  run-off. 


The  structure  of  soils 

Before  examining  more  closely  the  possibility  of 
storing  water  in  soils  a  brief  review  of  the  structure 
of  soils  is  desirable.  As  previously  explained,  soil 
is  essentially  a  mixture  of  disintegrated  rock  and 
the  decomposing  remains  of  plants.  The  rock  par- 
ticles which  constitute  the  major  portion  of  soils 
vary  greatly  in  size.  The  largest  ones  are  often  500 
times  the  sizes  of  the  smallest.  The  following  table 
shows  the  limits  of  sizes  and  the  names  used  to 
designate  them :  — 


Names  and  Sizes  of  Soil  Particles 

Name 

DlAMKTKKS    IN 

Millimeters 

Number  in  Owe 
Lineal  Inch 

\i  mbeb  in  One  Cubic  Inch 

Sand 
Silt 

Clay 

0.5  -0.03 
0.03-0.001 

Below  0.001 

50-833 
833-25,000 

Moro  than 
25,000 

125,000-578,009,537 
578,009,537- 

15,625,000,000,000 
More  than 

15,625,000,000,000 

It  will   be  observed  that  it  would   take  50  of  the 
coarsest  sand  particles,  and  25,000  of  the  finest  silt 


100  DRY-FARMING 

particles,  to  form  one  lineal  inch.  The  clay  particles 
are  often  smaller  and  of  such  a  nature  that  they  can- 
not be  accurately  measured.  The  total  number  of 
soil  particles  in  even  a  small  quantity  of  cultivated 
soil  is  far  beyond  the  ordinary  limits  of  thought, 
ranging  from  125,000  particles  of  coarse  sand  to 
15,625,000,000,000  particles  of  the  finest  silt  in  one 
cubic  inch.  In  other  words,  if  all  the  particles  in 
one  cubic  inch  of  soil  consisting  of  fine  silt  were 
placed  side  by  side,  they  would  form  a  continuous 
chain  over  a  thousand  miles  long.  The  farmer, 
when  he  tills  the  soil,  deals  with  countless  numbers 
of  individual  soil  grains,  far  surpassing  the  under- 
standing of  the  human  mind.  It  is  the  immense 
number  of  constituent  soil  particles  that  gives  to 
the  soil  many  of  its  most  valuable  properties. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  no  natural  soil  is 
made  up  of  particles  all  of  which  are  of  the  same  size ; 
all  sizes,  from  the  coarsest  sand  to  the  finest  clay, 
are  usually  present  (Fig.  17).  These  particles  of  all 
sizes  are  not  arranged  in  the  soil  in  a  regular,  orderly 
way;  they  are  not  placed  side  by  side  with  geo- 
metrical regularity ;  they  are  rather  j  umbled  together 
in  every  possible  way.  The  larger  sand  grains  touch 
and  form  comparatively  large  interstitial  spaces 
into  which  the  finer  silt  and  clay  grains  filter.  Then, 
again,  the  clay  particles,  which  have  cementing 
properties,  bind,  as  it  were,  one  particle  to  another. 
A  sand  grain  may  have  attached  to  it  hundreds,  or 


THE    SOIL   STRUCTURE  101 

it  may  be  thousands,  of  the  smaller  silt  grains;  or 
a  regiment  of  smaller  soil  grains  may  themselves 
be  clustered  into  one  large  grain  by  cementing 
power  of  the  clay.  Further,  in  the  presence  of  lime 
and  similar  substances,  these  complex  soil  grains  are 
grouped  into  yet  larger  and  more  complex  groups. 
The  beneficial  effect  of  lime  is  usually  due  to  this 
power  of  grouping  untold  numbers  of  soil  particles 
into  larger  groups.  When  by  correct  soil  culture 
the  individual  soil  grains  are  thus  grouped  into  large 
clusters,  the  soil  is  said  to  be  in  good  tilth.  Any- 
thing that  tends  to  destroy  these  complex  soil  grains, 
as,  for  instance,  plowing  the  soil  when  it  is  too  wet, 
weakens  the  crop-producing  power  of  the  soil.  This 
complexity  of  structure  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons 
for  the  difficulty  of  understanding  clearly  the  physi- 
cal laws  governing  soils. 


Pore-space  of  soils 

It  follows  from  this  description  of  soil  structure 
that  the  soil  grains  do  not  fill  the  whole  of  the  soil 
space.  The  tendency  is  rather  to  form  clusters  of 
soil  grains  which,  though  touching  at  many  points, 
leave  comparatively  large  empty  spaces.  This  pore- 
space  in  soils  varies  greatly,  but  with  a  maximum 
of  about  55  per  cent.  In  soils  formed  under  arid 
conditions  the  percentage  of  pore-space  is  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  of  50  per  cent.     There 


102  DRY-FARMING 

are  some  arid  soils,  notably  gypsum  soils,  the  par- 
ticles of  which  are  so  uniform  in  size  that  the  pore- 
space  is  exceedingly  small.  Such  soils  are  always 
difficult  to  prepare  for  agricultural  purposes. 

It  is  the  pore-space  in  soils  that  permits  the  stor- 
age of  soil-moisture;  and  it  is  always  important 
for  the  farmer  so  to  maintain  his  soil  that  the  pore- 
space  is  large  enough  to  give  him  the  best  results, 
not  only  for  the  storage  of  moisture,  but  for  the 
growth  and  development  of  roots,  and  for  the  en- 
trance into  the  soil  of  air,  germ  life,  and  other  forces 
that  aid  in  making  the  soil  fit  for  the  habitation  of 
plants.  This  can  always  be  best  accomplished,  as 
will  be  shown  hereafter,  by  deep  plowing,  when  the 
soil  is  not  too  wet,  the  exposure  of  the  plowed  soil 
to  the  elements,  the  frequent  cultivation  of  the  soil 
through  the  growing  season,  and  the  admixture  of 
organic  matter.  The  natural  soil  structure  at 
depths  not  reached  by  the  plow  evidently  cannot  be 
vitally  changed  by  the  farmer. 

Hygroscopic  soil-water 

Under  normal  conditions,  a  certain  amount  of 
water  is  always  found  in  all  things  occurring  naturally, 
soils  included.  Clinging  to  every  tree,  stone,  or  ani- 
mal tissue  is  a  small  quantity  of  moisture  varying 
with  the  temperature,  the  amount  of  water  in  the 
air,  and  with  other  well-known  factors.    It  is  impos- 


HYGROSCOPIC    WATER   IN   THE    SOIL  103 

sible  to  rid  any  natural  substance  wholly  of  water 
without  heating  it  to  a  high  temperature.  This 
water  which,  apparently,  belongs  to  all  natural 
objects  is  commonly  called  hygroscopic  water. 
Hilgard  states  that  the  soils  of  the  arid  regions  con- 
tain, under  a  temperature  of  15°  C.  and  an  atmos- 
phere saturated  with  water,  approximately  5j  per 
cent  of  hygroscopic  water.  In  fact,  however,  the 
air  over  the  arid  region  is  far  from  being  saturated 
with  water  and  the  temperature  is  even  higher  than 
15°  C,  and  the  hygroscopic  moisture  actually  found 
in  the  soils  of  the  dry-farm  territory  is  considerably 
smaller  than  the  average  above  given.  Under  the 
conditions  prevailing  in  the  Great  Basin  the  hygro- 
scopic water  of  soils  varies  from  .75  per  cent  to  3  J  per 
cent ;  the  average  amount  is  not  far  from  \\  per  cent. 
Whether  or  not  the  hygroscopic  water  of  soils  is 
of  value  in  plant  growth  is  a  disputed  question. 
Hilgard  believes  that  the  hygroscopic  moisture  can 
be  of  considerable  help  in  carrying  plants  through 
rainless  summers,  and  further,  that  its  presence  pre- 
vents the  heating  of  the  soil  particles  to  a  point 
dangerous  to  plant  roots.  Other  authorities  main- 
tain earnestly  that  the  hygroscopic  soil-water  is 
practically  useless  to  plants.  Considering  the  fact 
that  wilting  occurs  long  before  the  hygroscopic  water 
contained  in  the  soil  is  reached,  it  is  very  unlikely 
that  water  so  held  is  of  any  real  benefit  to  plant 
growth. 


104 


DRY-FARMING 


Gravitational  water 

It  often  happens  that  a  portion  of  the  water  in 
the  soil  is  under  the  immediate  influence  of  gravita- 
tion.    For   instance,    a   stone   which,    normally,   is 

covered  with  hygro- 


scopic  water  is 
dipped  into  water. 
The  hygroscopic 
water  is  not  thereby 
affected,  but  as  the 
stone  is  drawn  out 
of  the  water  a  good 
part  of  the  water 
runs  off.  This  is 
gravitational  water. 
That  is,  the  gravita- 
tional water  of  soils 
is  that  portion  of  the 
soil-water  which, 
filling  the  soil  pores, 
flows  downward 
through  the  soil 
under  the  influence 
of  gravity.  When 
the  soil  pores  are  completely  filled,  the  maximum 
amount  of  gravitational  water  is  found  there.  In  or- 
dinary dry-farm  soils  this  total  water  capacity  is  be- 
tween 35  and  40  per  cent  of  the  dry  weight  of  soil. 


±IG.  28.  Water  moving  downward  in 
small  tubes  gradually  becomes  dis- 
tributed over  the  walls  of  the  tubes  as 
a  capillary  film. 


WATER   OF   GRAVITATION    IN    THE    SOIL  105 

The  gravitational  soil-water  cannot  long  remain 
in  that  condition ;  for,  necessarily,  the  pull  of  gravity 
moves  it  downward  through  the  soil  pores  and  if 
conditions  are  favorable,  it  finally  reaches  the  stand- 
ing water-table,  whence  it  is  carried  to  the  great 
rivers,  and  finally  to  the  ocean.  In  humid  soils, 
under  a  large  precipitation,  gravitational  water  moves 
down  to  the  standing  water-table  after  every  rain. 
In  dry-farm  soils  the  gravitational  water  seldom 
reaches  the  standing  water-table;  for,  as  it  moves 
downward,  it  wets  the  soil  grains  and  remains  in  the 
capillary  condition  as  a  thin  film  around  the  soil 
grains. 

To  the  dry-farmer,  the  full  water  capacity  is  of 
importance  only  as  it  pertains  to  the  upper  foot  of 
soil.  If,  by  proper  plowing  and  cultivation,  the 
upper  soil  be  loose  and  porous,  the  precipitation  is 
allowed  to  soak  quickly  into  the  soil,  away  from  the 
action  of  the  wind  and  sun.  From  this  temporary 
reservoir,  the  water,  in  obedience  to  the  pull  of 
gravity,  will  move  slowly  downward  to  the  greater 
soil  depths,  where  it  will  be  stored  permanently 
until  needed  by  plants.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
dry-farmers  find  it  profitable  to  plow  in  the  fall,  as 
soon  as  possible  after  harvesting.  In  fact,  Camp- 
bell advocates  that  the  harvester  be  followed  im- 
mediately by  the  disk,  later  to  be  followed  by  the 
plow.  The  essential  thing  is  to  keep  the  topsoil 
open  and  receptive  to  a  rain. 


106  DRY-FARMING 

Capillary  soil-water 

The  so-called  capillary  soil-water  is  of  greatest 
importance  to  the  dry-farmer.  This  is  the  water  that 
clings  as  a  film  around  a  marble  that  has  been  dipped 
into  water.  There  is  a  natural  attraction  between 
water  and  nearly  all  known  substances,  as  is  witnessed 
by  the  fact  that  nearly  all  things  may  be  moistened. 
The  water  is  held  around  the  marble  because  the 
attraction  between  the  marble  and  the  water  is 
greater  than  the  pull  of  gravity  upon  the  water. 
The  greater  the  attraction,  the  thicker  the  film; 
the  smaller  the  attraction,  the  thinner  the  film  will 
be.  The  water  that  rises  in  a  capillary  glass  tube 
when  placed  in  water  does  so  by  virtue  of  the 
attraction  between  water  and  glass.  Frequently, 
the  force  that  makes  capillary  water  possible  is 
called  surface  tension  (Fig.  28). 

Whenever  there  is  a  sufficient  amount  of  water 
available,  a  thin  film  of  water  is  found  around  every 
soil  grain ;  and  where  the  soil  grains  touch,  or  where 
they  are  very  near  together,  water  is  held  pretty 
much  as  in  capillary  tubes.  Not  only  are  the  soil 
particles  enveloped  by  such  a  film,  but  the  plant 
roots  foraging  in  the  soil  are  likewise  covered ;  that 
is,  the  whole  system  of  soil  grains  and  roots  is 
covered,  under  favorable  conditions,  with  a  thin 
film  of  capillary  water.  It  is  the  water  in  this  form 
upon  which  plants   draw   during  their  periods  of 


CAPILLARY   WATER   IN   THE    SOIL  107 

growth.  The  hygroscopic  water  and  the  gravita- 
tional water  are  of  comparatively  little  value  in 
plant  growth. 

Field  capacity  of  soils  for  capillary  water 

The  tremendously  large  number  of  soil  grains 
found  in  even  a  small  amount  of  soil  makes  it  pos- 
sible for  the  soil  to  hold  very  large  quantities  of 
capillary  water.  To  illustrate :  In  one  cubic  inch 
of  sand  soil  the  total  surface  exposed  by  the  soil 
grains  varies  from  42  square  inches  to  27  square 
feet;  in  one  cubic  inch  of  silt  soil,  from  27  square 
feet  to(  72  square  feet,  and  in  one  cubic  inch  of  an 
ordinary  soil  the  total  surface  exposed  by  the  soil 
grains  is  about  25  square  feet.  This  means  that  the 
total  surface  of  the  soil  grains  contained  in  a  column 
of  soil  1  square  foot  at  the  top  and  10  feet  deep  is 
approximately  10  acres.  When  even  a  thin  film 
of  water  is  spread  over  such  a  large  area,  it  is- clear 
that  the  total  amount  of  water  involved  must  be 
large.  It  is  to  be  noticed,  therefore,  that  the  fine- 
ness of  the  soil  particles  previously  discussed  has  a 
direct  bearing  upon  the  amount  of  water  that  soils 
may  retain  for  the  use  of  plant  growth.  As  the  fine- 
ness of  the  soil  grains  increases,  the  total  surface 
increases,  and  the  water-holding  capacity  also 
increases. 

Naturally,  the  thickness  of  a  water  film  held  around 


108  DRY-FARMING 

the  soil  grains  is  very  minute.  King  has  calculated 
that  a  film  275  millionths  of  an  inch  thick,  clinging 
around  the  soil  particles,  i>  equivalent  to  14.24  per 
cent  of  water  in  a  heavy  clay :  7.2  per  cent  in  a  loam ; 
5.21  per  cent  in  a  sandy  loam,  and  1.41  per  cent  in 
a  sandy  soil. 

It  is  important  to  know  the  largest  amount  of 
water  that  soils  can  hold  in  a  capillary  condition, 
for  upon  it  depend,  in  a  measure,  the  possibilities 
of  crop  production  under  dry- farming  conditions. 
King  states  that  the  largest  amount  of  capillary 
water  that  can  be  held  in  sandy  loams  varies  from 
17.65  per  cent  to  10.67  per  cent :  in  clay  loams  from 
22.67  percent  to  18.16  per  cent,  and  in  humus  soils 
(which  are  practically  unknown  in  dry- farm  sections) 
from  44.72  per  cent  to  21.29  per  cent.  These  results 
were  not  obtained  under  dry-farm  conditions  and 
must  be  confirmed  by  investigations  of  arid  soils. 

The  water  that  falls  upon  dry-farms  is  very 
seldom  sufficient  in  quantity  to  reach  the  standing 
water-table,  and  it  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  deter- 
mine the  largest  percentage  of  water  that  a  soil 
can  hold  under  the  influence  of  gravity  down  to  a 
depth  of  8  or  10  feet  —  the  depth  to  which  the  roots 
penetrate  and  in  which  root  action  is  distinctly  felt. 
This  is  somewhat  difficult  to  determine  because  the 
many  conflicting  factors  acting  upon  the  soil-water 
are  seldom  in  equilibrium.  Moreover,  a  consider- 
able time  must  usually  elapse  before  the  rain-water 


CAPILLARY  WATER   IN   THE    SOIL  109 

is  thoroughly  distributed  throughout  the  soil.  For 
instance,  in  sandy  soils,  the  downward  descent  of 
water  is  very  rapid;  in  clay  soils,  where  the  prepon- 
derance of  fine  particles  makes  minute  soil  pores,  there 
is  considerable  hindrance  to  the  descent  of  water, 
and  it  may  take  weeks  or  months  for  equilibrium 
to  be  established.  It  is  believed  that  in  a  dry- farm 
district,  where  the  major  part  of  the  precipitation 
comes  during  winter,  the  early  springtime,  before 
the  spring  rains  come,  is  the  best  time  for  determin- 
ing the  maximum  water  capacity  of  a  soil.  At  that 
season  the  water-dissipating  influences,  such  as  sun- 
shine and  high  temperature,  are  at  a  minimum,  and 
a  sufficient  time  has  elapsed  to  permit  the  rains  of 
fall  and  winter  to  distribute  themselves  uniformly 
throughout  the  soil.  In  districts  of  high  summer 
precipitation,  the  late  fall  after  a  fallow  season  will 
probably  be  the  best  time  for  the  determination  of 
the  field-water  capacity  (Fig.  29). 

Experiments  on  this  subject  have  been  conducted 
at  the  Utah  Station.  As  a  result  of  several  thousand 
trials  it  was  found  that,  in  the  spring,  a  uniform, 
sandy  loam  soil  of  true  arid  properties  contained, 
from  year  to  year,  an  average  of  nearly  16J  per  cent 
of  water  to  a  depth  of  8  feet.  This  appeared  to 
be  practically  the  maximum  water  capacity  of  that 
soil  under  field  conditions,  and  it  may  be  called  the 
field  capacity  of  that  soil  for  capillary  water.  Other 
experiments  on  dry-farms  showed  the  field  capacity 


110 


DRY-FARMING 


of  a  clay  soil  to  a  depth  of  8  feet  to  be  19  per  cent; 
of  a  clay  loam,  to  be  18  per  cent;  of  a  loam,  17  per 
cent ;  of  another  loam  somewhat  more  sandy,  16  per 
cent;   of  a  sandy  loam,  14^  per  cent,  and  of  a  very 


Iig.  29.     Rainwater  moving  downward    through  soil  becomes    changed 
into  a  capillary  film  of  water  around  the  soil  particles. 

sandy  loam,  14  per  cent.  Leather  found  that  in  the 
calcareous  arid  soil  of  India  the  upper  5  feet  con- 
tained 18  per  cent  of  water  at  the  close  of  the  wet 
season. 

It  may  be  concluded,  therefore,  that  the  field-water 
capacities  of  ordinary  dry-farm  soils  are  not  very 
high,  ranging  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  with  an  average 
for  ordinary  dry-farm  soils  in  the  neighborhood  of 


STORING   WATER   IN   THE   SOIL  111 

16  or  17  per  cent.  Expressed  in  another  way  this 
means  that  a  layer  of  water  from  2  to  3  inches 
deep  can  be  stored  in  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  12 
inches.  Sandy  soils  will  hold  less  water  than  clayey 
ones.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  the  dry- 
farm  region  are  numerous  types  of  soils,  among  them 
some  consisting  chiefly  of  very  fine  soil  grains  and 
which  would,  consequently,  possess  field-water 
capacities  above  the  average  here  stated.  The  first 
endeavor  of  the  dry-farmer  should  be  to  have  the 
soil  filled  to  its  full  field-water  capacity  before  a 
crop  is  planted. 

Downward  movement  of  soil-moisture 

One  of  the  chief  considerations  in  a  discussion  of 
the  storing  of  water  in  soils  is  the  depth  to  which 
water  may  move  under  ordinary  dry-farm  conditions. 
In  humid  regions,  where  the  water  table  is  near  the 
surface  and  where  the  rainfall  is  very  abundant, 
no  question  has  been  raised  concerning  the  possi- 
bility of  the  descent  of  water  through  the  soil  to  the 
standing  water.  Considerable  objection,  however, 
has  been  offered  to  the  doctrine  that  the  rainfall 
of  arid  districts  penetrates  the  soil  to  any  great 
extent.  Numerous  writers  on  the  subject  intimate 
that  the  rainfall  under  dry-farm  conditions  reaches 
at  the  best  the  upper  3  or  4  feet  of  soil.  This 
cannot  be  true,  for  the  deep  rich  soils  of  the  arid 


112  DRY-FARMING 

region,  which  never  have  been  disturbed  by  the 
husbandman,  are  moist  to  very  great  depths.  In 
the  deserts  of  the  Great  Basin,  where  vegetation  is 
very  scanty,  soil  borings  made  almost  anywhere 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  moisture  exists  in  consider- 
able quantities  to  the  full  depth  of  the  ordinary  soil 
auger,  usually  10  feet.  The  same  is  true  for  prac- 
tically every  district  of  the  arid  region. 

Such  water  has  not  come  from  below,  for  in  the 
majority  of  cases  the  standing  water  is  50  to  500 
feet  below  the  surface.  Whitney  made  this  obser- 
vation many  years  ago  and  reported  it  as  a  striking 
feature  of  agriculture  in  arid  regions,  worthy  of 
serious  consideration.  Investigations  made  at  the 
Utah  Station  have  shown  that  undisturbed  soils 
within  the  Great  Basin  frequently  contain,  to  a 
depth  of  10  feet,  an  amount  of  water  equivalent  to 
2  or  3  years  of  the  rainfall  which  normally  occurs 
in  that  locality.  These  quantities  of  water  could 
not  be  found  in  such  soils,  unless,  under  arid  condi- 
tions, water  has  the  power  to  move  downward  to 
considerably  greater  depths  than  is  usually  believed 
by  dry-farmers. 

In  a  series  of  irrigation  experiments  conducted 
at  the  Utah  Station  it  was  demonstrated  that  on 
a  loam  soil,  within  a  few  hours  after  an  irrigation, 
some  of  the  water  applied  had  reached  the  eighth 
foot,  or  at  least  had  increased  the  percentage  of  water 
in  the  eighth  foot.     The  following  statement   from 


IRRIGATION    WATER   IN    THE    SOIL 


113 


these  experiments  shows  the  increase  in  each  foot 
about  eighteen  hours  after  a  small  and  also  a  larger 
irrigation :  — 


Water 
Applied 

Time  of 
Sampling 

Percentage  of  Water  in  Soil 
(Foot  Sections) 

in  Inches 

» 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Aver- 
age 

2.5 

Before 
irrigation  . 

After 

irrigation  . 

9.57 
19.24 

10.55 
13.70 

11.78 
13.1 

12.92 
13.84 

11.92  11.41 
12.66  12.72 

11.75 
12.31 

11.49 
12.70 

11.43 
13.67 

Increase 

9.67 

3.15 

1.39 

0.87 

0.74 

0.31 

0.56 

1.21 

2.24 

7.5 

Before 
irrigation  . 

After 
irrigation  . 

10.62 
23.83 

12.44 
21.83 

14.44 
20.05 

15.11 
17.40 

14.20 
15.87 

13.40 
14.66 

13.13 
14.21 

13.27 
14.15 

13.33 
17.75 

Increase 

13.21 

9.39 

5.61 

2.29 

1.67 

1.26 

1.08 

0.88 

4.42 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  soil  that  was  already 
well  filled  with  water,  the  addition  of  water  was  felt 
distinctly  to  the  full  depth  of  8  feet.  Moreover, 
it  was  observed  in  these  experiments  that  even  very 
small  rains  caused  moisture  changes  to  considerable 
depths  a  few  hours  after  the  rain  was  over.  For 
instance,  0.14  of  an  inch  of  rainfall  was  felt  to  a 
depth  of  2  feet  within  3  hours;  0.93  of  an  inch 
was  felt  to  a  depth  of  3  feet  within  the  same 
period. 


114 


DRY-FARMING 


To  determine  whether  or  not  the  natural  winter 
precipitation,  upon  which  the  crops  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  dry-farm  territory  depend,  penetrates 
the  soil  to  any  great  depth  a  series  of  tests  were 
undertaken.  At  the  close  of  the  harvest  in  August 
or  September  the  soil  was  carefully  sampled  to  a 
depth  of  8  feet,  and  in  the  following  spring  sim- 
ilar samples  were  taken  on  the  same  soils  to  the  same 
depth.  In  every  case,  it  was  found  that  the  winter 
precipitation  had  caused  moisture  changes  to  the 
full  depth  reached  by  the  soil  auger.  Moreover, 
these  changes  were  so  great  as  to  lead  the  investi- 
gators to  believe  that  moisture  changes  had  occurred 
to  greater  depths.  The  following  table  shows  some 
of  the  results  obtained :  — 


Date 

Percentage  of  Water  in  Each  Foot  of  Soil 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Aver- 
age 

Sept.  8,  1902     . 
April  24,  1903   . 

6.37 
19.29 

7.32 

19.08 

8.17 
18.83 

8.55 
16.99 

8.26 
13.61 

9.29 
12.62 

10.10 
12.24 

10.38 
12.37 

8.56 
15.63 

Increase    .     . 

12.92 

11.76 

10.66 

8.44 

5.35 1    3.33      2.14 

1.99        7.07 

Aug.  24,  1906    . 
May  1,  1907      . 

8.33 
18.17 

7.63 
16.73 

8.42 
17.96 

9.66     11.30     10.75 
16.88  j  16.59     16.25 

9.59 
14.98 

7.93 
13.48 

9.20 
16.38 

Increase    .     . 

9.84 

9.10 

9.54 

7.22  |    5.29 1    5.50 

5.39  |  5.55  |     7.18 

In  districts  where  the  major  part  of  the  precipi- 
tation occurs  during  the  summer  the  same  law  is 
undoubtedly  in  operation;  but,  since  evaporation 
is  most  active  in  the  summer,  it  is  probable  that  a 


STORING   WATER   IN    THE    SOIL 


115 


smaller  proportion  reaches  the  greater  soil  depths. 
In  the  Great  Plains  district,  therefore,  greater  care 
will  have  to  be  exercised  during  the  summer  in  secur- 
ing proper  water  storage  than  in  the  Great  Basin, 
for    instance.     The 


principle  is,  never- 
theless, the  same. 
Burr,  working  under 
Great  Plains  condi- 
tions in  Nebraska, 
has  shown  that  the 
spring  and  summer 
rains  penetrate  the 
soil  to  the  depth  of 
6  feet,  the  average 
depth  of  the  borings, 
and  that  it  undoubt- 
edly affects  the  soil- 
moisture  to  the 
depth  of  10  feet. 
In  general,  the  dry- 
farmer  may  safely 
accept  the  doctrine 
that  the  water  that 
falls  upon  his  land 


Fig.  30.  Diagram  to  illustrate  the  degree 
and  depth  to  which  the  precipitation 
of  fall,  winter,  and  earliest  spring  is 
found  in  the  soil  at  seed  time.  Lines 
on  the  left  indicate  the  percentage  of 
water  in  the  soil  in  the  fall;  those  on 
the  right,  the  percentage  of  water  in 
the  soil  in  the  spring  at  seed  time. 


penetrates  the  soil  far  beyond  the  immediate  reach 
of  the  sun,  though  not  so  far  away  that  plant  roots 
cannot  make  use  of  it. 


116  DRY-FARMING 

Importance  of  a  moist  subsoil 

In  the  consideration  of  the  downward  movement 
of  soil-water  it  is  to  be  noted  that  it  is  only  when  the 
soil  is  tolerably  moist  that  the  natural  precipitation 
moves  rapidly  and  freely  to  the  deeper  soil  layers. 
When  the  soil  is  dry,  the  downward  movement  of 
the  water  is  much  slower  and  the  bulk  of  the  water 
is  then  stored  near  the  surface  where  the  loss  of  mois- 
ture goes  on  most  rapidly.  It  has  been  observed 
repeatedly  in  the  investigations  at  the  Utah  Station 
that  when  desert  land  is  broken  for  dry-farm  purposes 
and  then  properly  cultivated,  the  precipitation 
penetrates  farther  and  farther  into  the  soil  with 
every  year  of  cultivation.  For  example,  on  a  dry- 
farm,  the  soil  of  which  is  clay  loam,  and  which  was 
plowed  in  the  fall  of  1904  and  farmed  annually  there- 
after, the  eighth  foot  contained  in  the  spring  of  1905, 
6.59  per  cent  of  moisture;,  in  the  spring  of  1906, 
13.11  percent,  and  in  the  spring  of  1907,  14.75  per 
cent  of  moisture.  On  another  farm,  with  a  very 
sandy  soil  and  also  plowed  in  the  fall  of  1904,  there 
was  found  in  the  eighth  foot  in  the  spring  of  1905, 
5.63  per  cent  of  moisture,  in  the  spring  of  1906,  11.41 
per  cent  of  moisture,  and  in  the  spring  of  1907,  15.49 
per  cent  of  moisture.  In  both  of  these  typical  cases 
it  is  evident  that  as  the  topsoil  was  loosened,  the 
full  field  water  capacity  of  the  soil  was  more  nearly 
approached  to  a  greater  depth.     It  would  seem  that, 


WATER   IN   THE    SUBSOIL  117 

as  the  lower  soil  layers  are  moistened,  the  water  is 
enabled,  so  to  speak,  to  slide  down  more  easily  into 
the  depths  of  the  soil. 
This  is  a  very  important  principle  for  the  dry- 


Fig.  31.     Dry-farm  Kubanka  spring  wheat,  1909.     Fergus  Co.,  Montana. 
Yield,  35  bushels  per  acre. 

farmer  to  understand.  It  is  always  dangerous  to 
permit  the  soil  of  a  dry-farm  to  become  very  dry, 
especially  below  the  first  foot.  Dry-farms  should 
be  so  manipulated  that  even  at  the  harvesting  season 
a  comparatively  large  quantity  of  water  remains  in 


118  DRY-FARMING 

the  soil  to  a  depth  of  8  feet  or  more.  The  larger 
the  quantity  of  water  in  the  soil  in  the  fall,  the  more 
readily  and  quickly  will  the  water  that  falls  on  the 
land  during  the  resting  period  of  fall,  winter,  and 
early  spring  sink  into  the  soil  and  move  away  from 
the  topsoil.  The  top  or  first  foot  will  always  con- 
tain the  largest  percentage  of  water  because  it  is  the 
chief  receptacle  of  the  water  that  falls  as  rain  or  snow, 
but  when  the  subsoil  is  properly  moist,  the  water 
will  more  completely  leave  the  topsoil.  Further, 
crops  planted  on  a  soil  saturated  with  water  to  a 
depth  of  8  feet  are  almost  certain  to  mature  and 
yield  well. 

If  the  field-water  capacity  has  not  been  filled, 
there  is  always  the  danger  that  an  unusually  dry 
season  or  a  series  of  hot  winds  or  other  like  circum- 
stances may  either  seriously  injure  the  crop  or  cause 
a  complete  failure.  The  dry- farmer  should  keep  a 
surplus  of  moisture  in  the  soil  to  be  carried  over 
from  year  to  year,  just  as  the  wise  business  man 
maintains  a  sufficient  working  capital  for  the  needs 
of  his  business.  In  fact,  it  is  often  safe  to  advise 
the  prospective  dry-farmer  to  plow  his  newly  cleared 
or  broken  land  carefully  and  then  to  grow  no  crop 
on  it  the  first  year,  so  that,  when  crop  production 
begins,  the  soil  will  have  stored  in  it  an  amount  of 
water  sufficient  to  carry  a  crop  over  periods  of  drouth. 
Especially  in  districts  of  very  low  rainfall  is  this 
practice  to  be  recommended.     In  the  Great  Plains 


STORING   RAINFALL   IN   THE    SOIL  119 

area,  where  the  summer  rains  tempt  the  farmer  to 
give  less  attention  to  the  soil-moisture  problem  than 
in  the  dry  districts  with  winter  precipitation,  farther 
West,  it  is  important  that  a  fallow  season  be  occa- 
sionally given  the  land  to  prevent  the  store  of  soil 
moisture  from  becoming  dangerously  low. 

To  what  extent  is  the  rainfall  stored  in  soils  f 

What  proportion  of  the  actual  amount  of  water 
falling  upon  the  soil  can  be  stored  in  the  soil  and 
carried  over  from  season  to  season?  This  question 
naturally  arises  in  view  of  the  conclusion  that  water 
penetrates  the  soil  to  considerable  depths.  There 
is  comparatively  little  available  information  with 
which  to  answer  this  question,  because  the  great 
majority  of  students  of  soil  moisture  have  concerned 
themselves  wholly  with  the  upper  two,  three,  or  four 
feet  of  soil.  The  results  of  such  investigations  are 
practically  useless  in  answering  this  question.  In 
humid  regions  it  may  be  very  satisfactory  to  confine 
soil-moisture  investigations  to  the  upper  few  feet; 
but  in  arid  regions,  where  dry-farming  is  a  living 
question,  such  a  method  leads  to  erroneous  or  in- 
complete conclusions. 

Since  the  average  field  capacity  of  soils  for  water 
is  about  2.5  inches  per  foot,  it  follows  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  store  25  inches  of  water  in  10  feet  of  soil. 
This  is  from  two  to  one  and  a  half  times  one  year's 


120  DRY-FARMING 

rainfall  over  the  better  dry-farming  sections.  The* 
oretically,  therefore,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  rain- 
fall of  one  season  or  more  could  not  be  stored  in  the 
soil.  Careful  investigations  have  borne  out  this 
theory.  Atkinson  found,  for  example,  at  the  Mon- 
tana Station,  that  soil,  which  to  a  depth  of  9  feet 
contained  7.7  per  cent  of  moisture  in  the  fall  con- 
tained 11.5  per  cent  in  the  spring  and,  after  carrying 
it  through  the  summer  by  proper  methods  of  culti- 
vation, 11  per  cent. 

It  may  certainly  be  concluded  from  this  experi- 
ment that  it  is  possible  to  carry  over  the  soil 
moisture  from  season  to  season.  The  elaborate  in- 
vestigations at  the  Utah  Station  have  demonstrated 
that  the  winter  precipitation,  that  is,  the  precipi- 
tation that  comes  during  the  wettest  period  of  the 
year,  may  be  retained  in  a  large  measure  in  the  soil. 
Naturally,  the  amount  of  the  natural  precipitation 
accounted  for  in  the  upper  eight  feet  will  depend 
upon  the  dryness  of  the  soil  at  the  time  the  investi- 
gation commenced.  If  at  the  beginning  of  the  wet- 
season  the  upper  eight  feet  of  soil  are  fairly  well 
stored  with  moisture,  the  precipitation  will  move 
down  to  even  greater  depths,  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  soil  auger.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  soil  is 
comparatively  dry  at  the  beginning  of  the  season, 
the  natural  precipitation  will  distribute  itself  through 
the  upper  few  feet,  and  thus  be  readily  measured 
by  the  soil  auger. 


STORING   RAINFALL   IN   THE    SOIL 


121 


In  the  Utah  investigations  it  was  found  that  of  the 
water  which  fell  as  rain  and  snow  during  the  winter, 
as  high  as  95  J  per  cent  was  found  stored  in  the  first 
eight  feet  of  soil  at  the  beginning  of  the  growing 
season.  Naturally,  much  smaller  percentages  were 
also  found,  but  on  an  average,  in  soils  somewhat 
dry  at  the  beginning  of  the  dry  season,  more  than 
three  fourths  of  the  natural  precipitation  was  found 
stored  in  the  soil  in  the  spring.  The  following  table 
shows  some  of  these  summary  results :  — 

Proportion  of  Rainfall  Stored  in  the  Soil 


Percent  of 

Percent 

precipita- 

of water 

Rainfall 

tion 

Period 

in  soil  in 

during 

found  in 

Soil 

fall 

period 

the  spring 

(Depth 

(Inches) 

(To  a 

of  8  ft.) 

depth  of 
8  ft.) 

Sept.  12,  1902-April  16,  1903    .     . 

8.78 

S.51 

87.59 

Sandy  Loam 

Aug.  23,  1904- April  22,  1905     .     . 

7.87 

7.94 

95.56 

Sandy  Loam 

Sept.  8,  1905-April  28,  1906      .     . 

8.83 

12.14 

82.61 

Sandy  Loam 

Oct.  8,  1906-April  29,  1907        .     . 

9.10 

16.17 

62.77 

Sandy  Loam 

Sept.  14,  1907-April  23,  1908    .     . 

11.03 

6.38 

67.55 

Sandy  Loam 

July  27,  1904-April  15,  1905      .     . 

12.34 

10.51 

93.17 

Clay 

Aug.  8,  1904-April  5,  1905         .     . 

7.73 

7.27 

64.80 

Sand 

July  28,  1905-May  7,  1906         .     . 

11.04 

10.65 

81.13 

Loam 

While  the  results  exhibited  in  the  above  table  were 
all  obtained  in  a  locality  where  the  bulk  of  the 
precipitation  comes  in  the  winter,  yet  similar  results 
would  undoubtedly  be  obtained  where  the  precipi- 
tation occurs  mainly  in  the  summer.  The  storage 
of  water  in  the  soil  cannot  be  a  whit  less  important 
on  the  Great  Plains  than  in  the  Great  Basin.     In 


122  DRY-FARMING 

fact,  Burr  has  clearly  demonstrated  for  western 
Nebraska  that  over  50  per  cent  of  the  rainfall  of  the 
spring  and  summer  may  be  stored  in  the  soil  to  the 
depth  of  six  feet.  Without  question,  some  is  stored 
also  at  greater  depths. 

All  the  evidence  at  hand  shows  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  precipitation  falling  upon  properly  prepared 
soil,  whether  it  be  in  summer  or  winter,  is  stored  in 
the  soil  until  evaporation  is  allowed  to  withdraw  it. 
Whether  or  not  water  so  stored  may  be  made  to 
remain  in  the  soil  throughout  the  season  or  the  year 
will  be  discussed  in  the  next  chapter.  It  must  be 
said,  however,  that  the  possibility  of  storing  water 
in  the  soil,  that  is,  making  the  water  descend  to 
relatively  great  soil  depths  away  from  the  immediate 
and  direct  action  of  the  sunshine  and  winds,  is  the 
most  fundamental  principle  in  successful  dry-farm- 
ing. 

The  fallow 

It  may  be  safely  concluded  that  a  large  portion  of 
the  water  that  falls  as  rain  or  snow  may  be  stored 
in  the  soil  to  considerable  depths  (eight  feet  or  more). 
However,  the  question  remains,  Is  it  possible  to 
store  the  rainfall  of  successive  years  in  the  soil  for 
the  use  of  one  crop?  In  short,  Does  the  practice 
of  clean  fallowing  or  resting  the  ground  with  proper 
cultivation  for  one  season  enable  the  farmer  to  store 
in  the  soil  the  larger  portion  of  the  rainfall  of  two 


SUMMER   FALLOW  123 

years,  to  be  used  for  one  crop  ?  It  is  unquestionably 
true,  as  will  be  shown  later,  that  clean  fallowing  or 
11  summer  tillage"  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  safest 
practices  of  d^-farming  as  practiced  in  the  West, 
but  it  is  not  generally  understood  why  fallowing  is 
desirable. 

Considerable  doubt  has  recently  been  cast  upon 
the  doctrine  that  one  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  fallow- 
ing in  dry-farming  is  to  store  the  rainfall  of  succes- 
sive seasons  in  the  soil  for  the  use  of  one  crop.  Since 
it  has  been  shown  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
winter  precipitation  can  be  stored  in  the  soil  during 
the  wet  season,  it  merely  becomes  a  question  of  the 
possibility  of  preventing  the  evaporation  of  this 
water  during  the  drier  season.  As  will  be  shown 
in  the  next  chapter,  this  can  well  be  effected  by 
proper  cultivation. 

There  is  no  good  reason,  therefore,  for  believing 
that  the  precipitation  of  successive  seasons  may  not 
be  added  to  water  already  stored  in  the  soil.  King 
has  shown  that  fallowing  the  soil  one  year  carried 
over  per  square  foot,  in  the  upper  four  feet,  9.38 
pounds  of  water  more  than  was  found  in  a  cropped 
soil  in  a  parallel  experiment;  and,  moreover,  the 
beneficial  effect  of  this  water  advantage  was  felt 
for  a  whole  succeeding  season.  King  concludes, 
therefore,  that  one  of  the  advantages  of  fallowing 
is  to  increase  the  moisture  content  of  the  soil.  The 
Utah  experiments  show  that  the  tendency  of  fallow- 


124  DRY-FARMING 

ing  is  always  to  increase  the  soil-moisture  content. 
In  dry-farming,  water  is  the  critical  factor,  and  any 
practice  that  helps  to  conserve  water  should  be 
adopted.  For  that  reason,  fallowing,  which  gathers 
soil-moisture,  should  be  strongly  advocated.  In 
Chapter  IX  another  important  value  of  the  fallow 
will  be  discussed. 

In  view  of  the  discussion  in  this  chapter  it  is  easily 
understood  why  students  of  soil-moisture  have  not 
found  a  material  increase  in  soil-moisture  due  to 
fallowing.  Usually  such  investigations  have  been 
made  to  shallow  depths  which  already  were  fairly 
well  filled  with  moisture.  Water  falling  upon  such 
soils  would  sink  beyond  the  depth  reached  by  the 
soil  augers,  and  it  became  impossible  to  judge 
accurately  of  the  moisture-storing  advantage  of  the 
fallow.  A  critical  analysis  of  the  literature  on  this 
subject  will  reveal  the  weakness  of  most  experiments 
in  this  respect. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  the  only  fallow 
that  should  be  practiced  by  the  dry-farmer  is  the 
clean  fallow.  Water  storage  is  manifestly  impos- 
sible when  crops  are  growing  upon  a  soil.  A  healthy 
crop  of  sagebrush,  sunflowers,  or  other  weeds  con- 
sumes as  much  water  as  a  first-class  stand  of  corn, 
wheat,  or  potatoes.  Weeds  should  be  abhorred  by 
the  farmer.  A  weedy  fallow  is  a  sure  forerunner  of 
a  crop  failure.  How  to  maintain  a  good  fallow  is 
discussed  in  Chapter  VIII,  under  the  head  of  Culti- 


STORING   WATER   BY   DEEP    PLOWING  125 

vation.  Moreover,  the  practice  of  fallowing  should 
be  varied  with  the  climatic  conditions.  In  districts 
of  low  rainfall,  10-15  inches,  the  land  should  be  clean 
summer-fallowed  every  other  year;  under  very  low 
rainfall  perhaps  even  two  out  of  three  years;  in 
districts  of  more  abundant  rainfall,  15-20  inches, 
perhaps  one  year  out  of  every  three  or  four  is  suffi- 
cient. Where  the  precipitation  comes  during  the 
growing  season,  as  in  the  Great  Plains  area,  fallowing 
for  the  storage  of  water  is  less  important  than  where 
the  major  part  of  the  rainfall  comes  during  the  fall 
and  winter.  However,  any  system  of  dry-farming 
that  omits  fallowing  wholly  from  its  practices  is 
in  danger  of  failure  in  dry  years. 

Deep  plowing  for  water  storage 

It  has  been  attempted  in  this  chapter  to  demon- 
strate that  water  falling  upon  a  soil  may  descend  to 
great  depths,  and  may  be  stored  in  the  soil  from  year 
to  year,  subject  to  the  needs  of  the  crop  that  may  be 
planted.  By  what  cultural  treatment  may  this 
downward  descent  of  the  water  be  accelerated  by  the 
farmer?  First  and  foremost,  by  plowing  at  the 
right  time  and  to  the  right  depth.  Plowing  should 
be  done  deeply  and  thoroughly  so  that  the  falling 
water  may  immediately  be  drawn  down  to  the  full 
depth  of  the  loose,  spongy,  plowed  soil,  away  from 
the  action  of  the  sunshine  or  winds.     The  moisture 


126  DRY-FARMING 

thus  caught  will  slowly  work  its  way  down  into  the 
lower  layers  of  the  soil.  Deep  plowing  is  always  to 
be  recommended  for  successful  dry-farming. 

In  humid  districts  where  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  the  soil  and  the  subsoil,  it  is  often  dangerous 
to  turn  up  the  lifeless  subsoil,  but  in  arid  districts 
where  there  is  no  real  differentiation  between  the 
soil  and  the  subsoil,  deep  plowing  may  safely  be  rec- 
ommended. True,  occasionally,  soils  are  found  in 
the  dry-farm  territory  which  are  underlaid  near  the 
surface  by  an  inert  clay  or  infertile  layer  of  lime  or 
gypsum  which  forbids  the  farmer  putting  the  plow 
too  deeply  into  the  soil.  Such  soils,  however,  are 
seldom  worth  while  trying  for  dry-farm  purposes. 
Deep  plowing  must  be  practiced  for  the  best  dry- 
farming  results. 

It  naturally  follows  that  subsoiling  should  be  a 
beneficial  practice  on  dry-farms.  Whether  or  not 
the  great  cost  of  subsoiling  is  offset  by  the  resulting 
increased  yields  is  an  open  question;  it  is,  in  fact, 
quite  doubtful.  Deep  plowing  done  at  the  right  time 
and  frequently  enough  is  possibly  sufficient.  By 
deep  plowing  is  meant  stirring  or  turning  the  soil 
to  a  depth  of  six  to  ten  inches,  below  the  surface  of 
the  land. 

Fall  plowing  for  water  storage 

It  is  not  alone  sufficient  to  plow  and  to  plow 
deeply ;  it  is  also  necessary  that  the  plowing  be  done 


STORING   WATER   BY    FALL    PLOWING  127 

at  the  right  time.  In  the  very  great  majority  of 
cases  over  the  whole  dry-farm  territory,  plowing 
should  be  done  in  the  fall.  There  are  three  reasons 
for  this:  First,  after  the  crop  is  harvested,  the  soil 
should  be  stirred  immediately,  so  that  it  can  be 
exposed  to  the  full  action  of  the  weathering  agencies, 
whether  the  winters  be  open  or  closed.  If  for  any 
reason  plowing  cannot  be  done  early  it  is  often  advan- 
tageous to  follow  the  harvester  with  a  disk  and  to 
plow  later  when  convenient.  The  chemical  effect  on 
the  soil  resulting  from  the  weathering,  made  possible 
by  fall  plowing,  as  will  be  shown  in  Chapter  IX, 
is  of  itself  so  great  as  to  warrant  the  teaching  of 
the  general  practice  of  fall  plowing.  Secondly,  the 
early  stirring  of  the  soil  prevents  evaporation  of  the 
moisture  in  the  soil  during  late  summer  and  the  fall. 
Thirdly,  in  the  parts  of  the  dry-farm  territory  where 
much  precipitation  occurs  in  the  fall,  winter,  or  early 
spring,  fall  plowing  permits  much  of  this  precipita- 
tion to  enter  the  soil  and  be  stored  there  until 
needed  by  plants. 

A  number  of  experiment  stations  have  compared 
plowing  done  in  the  early  fall  with  plowing  done 
late  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring,  and  with  almost 
no  exception  it  has  been  found  that  early  fall  plowing 
is  water-conserving  and  in  other  ways  advantageous. 
It  was  observed  on  a  Utah  dry-farm  that  the  fall- 
plowed  land  contained,  to  a  depth  of  10  feet,  7.47 
acre-inches  more  water  than  the  adjoining  spring- 


128  DRY-FARMING 

plowed  land  —  a  saving  of  nearly  one  half  of  a  year's 
precipitation.  The  ground  should  be  plowed  in  the 
early  fall  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  crop  is  har- 
vested. It  should  then  be  left  in  the  rough  through- 
out the  winter,  so  that  it  may  be  mellowed  and  broken 
down  by  the  elements.  The  rough  land  further  has 
a  tendency  to  catch  and  hold  the  snow  that  may 
be  blown  by  the  wind,  thus  insuring  a  more  even 
distribution  of  the  water  from  the  melting  snow. 

A  common  objection  to  fall  plowing  is  that  the 
ground  is  so  dry  in  the  fall  that  it  does  not  plow  up 
well,  and  that  the  great  dry  clods  of  earth  do  much 
to  injure  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil.  It  is 
very  doubtful  if  such  an  objection  is  generally  valid, 
especially  if  the  soil  is  so  cropped  as  to  leave  a  fair 
margin  of  moisture  in  the  soil  at  harvest  time.  The 
atmospheric  agencies  will  usually  break  down  the 
clods,  and  the  physical  result  of  the  treatment  will 
be  beneficial.  Undoubtedly,  the  fall  plowing  of 
dry  land  is  somewhat  difficult,  but  the  good  results 
more  than  pay  the  farmer  for  his  trouble.  Late 
fall  plowing,  after  the  fall  rains  have  softened  the 
land,  is  preferable  to  spring  plowing.  If  for  any 
reason  the  farmer  feels  that  he  must  practice  spring 
plowing,  he  should  do  it  as  early  as  possible  in  the 
spring.  Of  course,  it  is  inadvisable  to  plow  the  soil 
when  it  is  so  wet  as  to  injure  its  tilth  seriously,  but 
as  soon  as  that  danger  period  has  passed,  the  plow 
should  be  placed  in  the  ground.     The  moisture  in 


WATER    STORING    AND    PLOWING  129 

the  soil  will  thereby  be  conserved,  and  whatever 
water  may  fall  during  the  spring  months  will  be  con- 
served also.  This  is  of  especial  importance  in  the 
Great  Plains  region  and  in  any  district  where  the 
precipitation  comes  in  the  spring  and  winter  months. 

Likewise,  after  fall  plowing,  the  land  must  be  well 
stirred  in  the  early  spring  with  the  disk  harrow  or  a 
similar  implement,  to  enable  the  spring  rains  to  enter 
the  soil  easily  and  to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  the 
water  already  stored.  Where  the  rainfall  is  quite 
abundant  and  the  plowed  land  has  been  beaten  down 
by  the  frequent  rains,  the  land  should  be  plowed 
again  in  the  spring.  Where  such  conditions  do  not 
exist,  the  treatment  of  the  soil  with  the  disk  and  har- 
row in  the  spring  is  usually  sufficient. 

In  recent  dry-farm  experience  it  has  been  fairly 
completely  demonstrated  that,  providing  the  soil  is 
well  stored  with  water,  crops  will  mature  even  if  no 
rain  falls  during  the  growing  season.  Naturally, 
under  most  circumstances,  any  rains  that  may  fall 
on  a  well-prepared  soil  during  the  season  of  crop 
growth  will  tend  to  increase  the  crop  yield,  but  some 
profitable  yield  is  assured,  in  spite  of  the  season, 
if  the  soil  is  well  stored  with  water  at  seed  time. 
This  is  an  important  principle  in  the  system  of  dry- 
farming. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

REGULATING  THE   EVAPORATION 

The  demonstration  in  the  last  chapter  that  the 
water  which  falls  as  rain  or  snow  may  be  stored  in 
the  soil  for  the  use  of  plants  is  of  first  importance  in 
dry-farming,  for  it  makes  the  farmer  independent, 
in  a  large  measure,  of  the  distribution  of  the  rainfall. 
The  dry-farmer  who  goes  into  the  summer  with  a 
soil  well  stored  with  water  cares  little  whether  sum- 
mer rains  come  or  not,  for  he  knows  that  his  crops  will 
mature  in  spite  of  external  drouth.  In  fact,  as  will 
be  shown  later,  in  many  dry-farm  sections  where 
the  summer  rains  are  light  they  are  a  positive  detri- 
ment to  the  farmer  who  by  careful  farming  has 
stored  his  deep  soil  with  an  abundance  of  water. 
Storing  the  soil  with  water  is,  however,  only  the  first 
step  in  making  the  rains  of  fall,  winter,  or  the  preced- 
ing year  available  for  plant  growth.  As  soon  as 
warm  growing  weather  comes,  water-dissipating 
forces  come  into  play,  and  water  is  lost  by  evapora- 
tion. The  farmer  must,  therefore,  use  all  precau- 
tions to  keep  the  moisture  in  the  soil  until  such  time 
as  the  roots  of  the  crop  may  draw  it  into  the  plants 
to  be  used  in  plant  production.     That  is,  as  far  as 

130 


AMOUNT   OF   EVAPORATION 


131 


PTI0N_ 

7R0M^ 
ITREEH 


possible,  direct  evaporation  of  water  from  the  soil 
must  be  prevented. 

Few  farmers  really  realize  the  immense  possible 
annual  evaporation  in  the  dry-farm  territory.  It  is 
always  much  larger  than  the  total  annual  rainfall. 
In  fact,  an  arid  region  may  be  defined  as  one  in  which 
under  natural  conditions  several  times  more  water 
evaporates  annually  from  a  free  water  surface  than 
falls  as  rain  and  snow.  For  that  reason  many  stu- 
dents of  aridity  pay  little  attention  to  temperature, 
relative  humidity,  or  winds,  and  simply  measure  the 
evaporation  from  a  free  water  surface  in 
the  locality  in  question.  In  order  to  ob- 
tain a  measure  of  the  aridity,  MacDougal 
has  constructed  the  following  table,  show- 
ing the  annual  precipitation  and  the  an- 
nual evaporation  at  several  well-known 
localities  in  the  dry-farm  territory. 

True,  the  localities  included  in  the  fol- 
lowing table  are  extreme,  but  they 
illustrate  the  large  possible  evap- 
oration, ranging  from  about  six  to 
thirty-five  times  the  precipitation. 
(See  Fig.  32.)  At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
while  such  rates  of  evaporation 
may  occur  from  free  water  sur- 
faces, the  evaporation  from  agricultural  soils  under 
like  conditions  is  very  much  smaller. 


WATER 
SURFACE 


Fig.  32.  Annual  rain- 
fall and  evaporation 
in  arid  region  com- 
pared. The  high  evap- 
oration rate  makes 
necessary  thorough 
farming. 


132 


DRY-FARMING 


Place 


El  Paso,  Texas     .... 
Fort  Wingate,  New  Mexico 
Fort  Yuma,  Arizona 
Phoenix,  Arizona 
Tucson,  Arizona 
Mohave,  California 
Hawthorne,  Nevada 
Winnemucca,  Nevada 
St.  George,  Utah      . 
Fort  Duchesne,  Utah 
Pineville,  Oregon 
Lost  River,  Idaho    . 
Laramie,  Wyoming 
Torres,  Mexico    .     . 


Annual 

Annual 

Precipita- 

Evapora- 

tion 

tion 

(Inches) 

i  Inches* 

9.23 

80 

14.00 

80 

2.84 

100 

7.06 

90 

11.74 

90 

4.97 

95 

4.50 

80 

8.51 

80 

6.46 

90 

6.49 

75 

9.01 

70 

8.47 

70 

9.81 

70 

16.97 

100 

Ratio 


8.7 

5.7 

35.2 

12.7 

7.7 

19.1 

17.5 

9.6 

13.9 

11.6 

7.8 

8.3 

7.1 

6.0 


To  understand  the  methods  employed  for  cheek- 
ing evaporation  from  the  soil,  it  is  necessary  to  review 
briefly  the  conditions  that  determine  the  evapora- 
tion of  water  into  the  air,  and  the  manner  in  which 
water  moves  in  the  soil. 


The  formation  of  water  vapor 

Whenever  water  is  left  freely  exposed  to  the  air, 
it  evaporates:  that  is,  it  passes  into  the  gaseous 
state  and  mixes  with  the  gases  of  the  air.  Even 
snow  and  ice  give  off  water  vapor,  though  in  very 
small    quantities.     The    quantity    of    water    vapor 


THE    EVAPORATION    OF   WATER  133 

which  can  enter  a  given  volume  of  air  is  definitely 
limited.  For  instance,  at  the  temperature  of  freez- 
ing water  2.126  grains  of  water  vapor  can  enter 
one  cubic  foot  of  air,  but  no  more.  When  air  con- 
tains all  the  water  possible,  it  is  said  to  be  saturated, 
and  evaporation  then  ceases.  The  practical  effect 
of  this  is  the  well-known  experience  that  on  the  sea- 
shore, where  the  air  is  often  very  nearly  fully  sat- 
urated with  water  vapor,  the  drying  of  clothes  goes 
on  very  slowly,  whereas  in  the  interior,  like  the  dry- 
farming  territory,  away  from  the  ocean,  where  the 
air  is  far  from  being  saturated,  drying  goes  on  very 
rapidly. 

The  amount  of  water  necessary  to  saturate  air 
varies  greatly  with  the  temperature,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  table  on  page  134. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  as  the  temperature  increases, 
the  amount  of  water  that  may  be  held  by  the  air 
also  increases;  and  proportionately  more  rapidly 
than  the  increase  in  temperature.  This  is  generally 
well  understood  in  common  experience,  as  in  drying 
clothes  rapidly  by  hanging  them  before  a  hot  fire. 
At  a  temperature  of  100°  F.,  which  is  often  reached 
in  portions  of  the  dry-farm  territory  during  the 
growing  season,  a  given  volume  of  air  can  hold  more 
than  nine  times  as  much  water  vapor  as  at  the  tem- 
perature of  freezing  water.  This  is  an  exceedingly 
important  principle  in  dry-farm  practices,  for  it 
explains  the  relatively  easy  possibility  of  storing 


134 


DRY-FARMING 


Temperature 

Fahrenheit 

(.Degrees) 

Weight  of  Water  Vapor    1 

that  can  be  held  in                                r»;<r«^ 

One  Cubic  Foot  of  Air                            Difference 
(In  Grains) 

0 
32 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

0.545 
2.126) 

2.862 ! 

4.089  j 

5.756  j 

7.992  | 

10.949  j 

14.810  | 

19.790  1 

0.736 

1.227 

1.667 

2.236 

2.957 

3.861 

4.980 

water  during  the  fall  and  winter  when  the  tempera- 
ture is  low  and  the  moisture  usually  abundant,  and 
the  greater  difficulty  of  storing  the  rain  that  falls 
largely,  as  in  the  Great  Plains  area,  in  the  summer, 
when  water-dissipating  forces  are  very  active.  This 
law  also  emphasizes  the  truth  that  it  is  in  times  of 
warm  weather  that  every  precaution  must  be  taken 
to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  water  from  the  soil 
surface. 

It  is  of  course  well  understood  that  the  atmos- 
phere as  a  whole  is  never  saturated  with  water  vapor. 


TEMPERATURE    AND    EVAPORATION  135 

Such  saturation  is  at  the  best  only  local,  as,  for  in- 
stance, on  the  seashore  during  quiet  days,  when  the 
layer  of  air  over  the  water  may  be  fully  saturated, 
or  in  a  field  containing  much  water  from  which',  on 
quiet  warm  days,  enough  water  may  evaporate  to 
saturate  the  layer  of  air  immediately  upon  the  soil 
and  around  the  plants.  Whenever,  in  such  cases, 
the  air  begins  to  move  and  the  wind  blows,  the 
saturated  air  is  mixed  with  the  larger  portion  of 
unsaturated  air,  and  evaporation  is  again  increased. 
Meanwhile,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  into  a  layer 
of  saturated  air  resting  upon  a  field  of  growing  plants 
very  little  water  evaporates,  and  that  the  chief  water- 
dissipating  power  of  winds  lies  in  the  removal  of  this 
saturated  layer.  Winds  or  air  movements  of  any 
kind,  therefore,  become  enemies  of  the  farmer  who 
depends  upon  a  limited  rainfall. 

The  amount  of  water  actually  found  in  a  given 
volume  of  air  at  a  certain  temperature,  compared 
with  the  largest  amount  it  can  hold,  is  called  the  rela- 
tive humidity  of  the  air.  As  shown  in  Chapter  IV, 
the  relative  humidity  becomes  smaller  as  the  rainfall 
decreases.  The  lower  the  relative  humidity  is  at 
a  given  temperature,  the  more  rapidly  will  water 
evaporate  into  the  air.  There  is  no  more  striking 
confirmation  of  this  law  than  the  fact  that  at  a  tem- 
perature of  90°  sunstrokes  and  similar  ailments  are 
reported  in  great  number  from  New  York,  while 
the  people  of  Salt  Lake  City  are  perfectly  comfort- 


136  DRY-FARMING 

able.  In  New  York  the  relative  humidity  in  sun> 
mer  is  about  73  per  cent;  in  Salt  Lake  City,  about 
35  per  cent.  At  a  high  summer  temperature  evapora- 
tion from  the  skin  goes  on  slowly  in  New  York  and 
rapidly  in  Salt  Lake  City,  with  the  resulting  discom- 
fort or  comfort.  Similarly,  evaporation  from  soils 
goes  on  rapidly  under  a  low  and  slowly  under  a  high 
percentage  of  relative  humidity. 

Evaporation  from  water  surfaces  is  hastened,  there- 
fore, by  (1)  an  increase  in  the  temperature,  (2)  an 
increase  in  the  air  movements  or  winds,  and  (3)  a 
decrease  in  the  relative  humidity.  The  tempera- 
ture is  higher ;  the  relative  humidity  lower,  and  the 
winds  usually  more  abundant  in  arid  than  in  humid 
regions.  The  dry-farmer  must  consequently  use  all 
possible  precautions  to  prevent  evaporation  from  the 
soil. 

Conditions  of  evaporation  from  soils 

Evaporation  does  not  alone  occur  from  a  surface 
of  free  water.  All  wet  or  moist  substances  lose  by 
evaporation  most  of  the  water  that  they  hold,  pro- 
viding the  conditions  of  temperature  and  relative 
humidity  are  favorable.  Thus,  from  a  wet  soil, 
evaporation  is  continually  removing  water.  Yet, 
under  ordinary  conditions,  it  is  impossible  to  remove 
all  the  water,  for  a  small  quantity  is  attracted  so 
strongly  by  the  soil  particles  that  only  a  tempera- 
ture above  the  boiling  point  of  water  will  drive  it 


EVAPORATION   FROM   SOILS  137 

out.  This  part  of  the  soil  is  the  hygroscopic  moisture 
spoken  of  in  the  last  chapter. 

Moreover,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  evapora- 
tion does  not  occur  as  rapidly  from  wet  soil  as  from 
a  water  surface,  unless  all  the  soil  pores  are  so 
completely  filled  with  water  that  the  soil  surface 
is  practically  a  water  surface.  The  reason  for  this 
reduced  evaporation  from  a  wet  soil  is  almost  self- 
evident.  There  is  a  comparatively  strong  attraction 
between  soil  and  water,  which  enables  the  moisture 
to  cling  as  a  thin  capillary  film  around  the  soil  par- 
ticles, against  the  force  of  gravity.  Ordinarily, 
only  capillary  water  is  found  in  well-tilled  soil,  and 
the  force  causing  evaporation  must  be  strong  enough 
to  overcome  this  attraction  besides  changing  the 
water  into  vapor. 

The  less  water  there  is  in  a  soil,  the  thinner  the 
water  film,  and  the  more  firmly  is  the  water  held. 
Hence,  the  rate  of  evaporation  decreases  with  the 
decrease  in  soil-moisture.  This  law  is  confirmed  by 
actual  field  tests.  For  instance,  as  an  average  of 
274  trials  made  at  the  Utah  Station,  it  was  found  that 
three  soils,  otherwise  alike,  that  contained,  respec- 
tively, 22.63  per  cent,  17.14  per  cent,  and  12.7")  per 
cent  of  water  lost  in  two  weeks,  to  a  depth  of  eight 
feet,  respectively  21.0, 17.1,  and  10.0  pounds  of  water 
per  square  foot.  Similar  experiments  conducted 
elsewhere  also  furnish  proof  of  the  correctness  of 
this  principle.     From   this  point  of  view  the  dry- 


138  DRY-FARMING 

farmer  does  not  want  his  soils  to  be  unnecessarily 
moist.  The  dry-farmer  can  reduce  the  per  cent  of 
water  in  the  soil  without  diminishing  the  total  amount 
of  water  by  so  treating  the  soil  that  the  water  will 
distribute  itself  to  considerable  depths.  This  brings 
into  prominence  again  the  practices  of  fall  plowing, 
deep  plowing,  subsoiling,  and  the  choice  of  deep  soils 
for  dry-farming. 

Very  much  for  the  same  reasons,  evaporation  goes 
on  more  slowly  from  water  in  which  salt  or  other 
substances  have  been  dissolved.  The  attraction 
between  the  water  and  the  dissolved  salt  seems  to 
be  strong  enough  to  resist  partially  the  force  causing 
evaporation.  Soil-water  always  contains  some  of 
the  soil  ingredients  in  solut  on,  and  consequently 
under  the  given  conditions  evaporation  occurs  more 
slowly  from  soil-water  than  from  pure  water.  Now, 
the  more  fertile  a  soil  is,  that  is,  the  more  soluble 
plant-food  it  contains,  the  more  material  will  be 
dissolved  in  the  soil-water,  and  as  a  result  the  more 
slowly  will  evaporation  take  place.  Fallowing, 
cultivation,  thorough  plowing  and  manuring,  which 
increase  the  store  of  soluble  plant-food,  all  tend  to 
diminish  evaporation.  While  these  conditions  may 
have  little  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  farmer  who  is 
under  an  abundant  rainfall,  they  are  of  great  impor- 
tance to  the  dry-farmer.  It  is  only  by  utilizing  every 
possibility  of  conserving  water  and  fertility  that  dry- 
farming  may  be  made  a  perfectly  safe  practice'. 


REGION    OF   EVAPORATION  139 

Loss  by  evaporation  chiefly  at  the  surface 

Evaporation  goes  on  from  every  wet  substance. 
Water  evaporates  therefore  from  the  wet  soil  grains 
under  the  surface  as  well  as  from  those  at  the  sur- 
face. In  developing  a  system  of  practice  which  will 
reduce  evaporation  to  a  minimum  it  must  be  learned 
whether  the  water  which  evaporates  from  the  soil 
particles  far  below  the  surface  is  carried  in  large 
quantities  into  the  atmosphere  and  thus  lost  to  plant 
use.  Over  forty  years  ago,  Nessler  subjected  this 
question  to  experiment  and  found  that  the  loss  by 
evaporation  occurs  almost  wholly  at  the  soil  surface, 
and  that  very  little  if  any  is  lost  directly  by  evapora- 
tion from  the  lower  soil  layers.  Other  experimenters 
have  confirmed  this  conclusion,  and  very  recently 
Buckingham,  examining  the  same  subject,  found 
that  while  there  is  a  very  slow  upward  movement 
of  the  soil  gases  into  the  atmosphere,  the  total  quan- 
tity of  the  water  thus  lost  by  direct  evaporation  from 
soil,  a  foot  below  the  surface,  amounted  at  most  to 
one  inch  of  rainfall  in  six  years.  This  is  insignificant 
even  under  semiarid  and  arid  conditions.  How- 
ever, the  rate  of  loss  of  water  by  direct  evaporation 
from  the  lower  soil  layers  increases  with  the  porosity 
of  the  soil,  that  is,  with  the  space  not  filled  with  soil 
particles  or  water.  Fine-grained  soils,  therefore, 
lose  the  least  water  in  this  manner.  Nevertheless, 
if    coarse-grained    soils  are  well  filled  with  water, 


140  DRY-FARMING 

by  deep  fall  plowing  and  by  proper  summer  fallowing 
for  the  conservation  of  moisture,  the  loss  of  moisture 
by  direct  evaporation  from  the  lower  soil  layers 
need  not  be  larger  than  from  finer  grained  soils. 

Thus  again  are  emphasized  the  principles  previously 
laid  down  that,  for  the  most  successful  dry-farming, 
the  soil  should  always  be  kept  well  filled  with  mois- 
ture, even  if  it  means  that  the  land,  after  being  broken, 
must  lie  fallow  for  one  or  two  seasons,  until  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  moisture  has  accumulated.  Further, 
the  correlative  principle  is  emphasized  that  the  mois- 
ture in  dry-farm  lands  should  be  stored  deeply,  away 
from  the  immediate  action  of  the  sun's  rays  upon  the 
land  surface.  The  necessity  for  deep  soils  is  thus 
again  brought  out. 

The  great  loss  of  soil  moisture  due  to  an  accumu- 
lation of  water  in  the  upper  twelve  inches  is  well 
brought  out  in  the  experiments  conducted  by  the 
Utah  Station.  The  following  is  selected  from  the 
numerous  data  on  the  subject.  Two  soils,  almost 
identical  in  character,  contained  respectively  17.57 
per  cent  and  16.55  per  cent  of  water  on  an  average 
to  a  depth  of  eight  feet :  that  is,  the  total  amount  of 
water  held  by  the  two  soils  was  practically  identical. 
Owing  to  varying  cultural  treatment,  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  water  in  the  soil  was  not  uniform;  one 
contained  23.22  per  cent  and  the  other  16.64  per 
cent  of  water  in  the  first  twelve  inches.  During 
the   first    seven   davs  the  soil  that   contained  the 


EVAPORATION  AT  THE  SURFACE        141 

highest  percentage  of  water  in  the  first  foot  lost 
13.30  pounds  of  water,  while  the  other  lost  only  8.48 
pounds  per  square  foot.  This  great  difference  was 
due  no  doubt  to  the  fact  that  direct  evaporation 
takes  place  in  considerable  quantity  only  in  the  upper 
twelve  inches  of  soil,  where  the  sun's  heat  has  a 
full  chance  to  act. 

Any  practice  which  enables  the  rains  to  sink 
quickly  to  considerable  depths  should  be  adopted 
by  the  dry-farmer.  This  is  perhaps  one  of  the  great 
reasons  for  advocating  the  expensive  but  usually 
effective  subsoil  plowing  on  dry-farms.  It  is  a  very 
common  experience,  in  the  arid  region,  that  great, 
deep  cracks  form  during  hot  weather.  From  the 
walls  of  these  cracks  evaporation  goes  on,  as  from 
the  topsoil,  and  the  passing  winds  renew  the  air  so 
that  the  evaporation  may  go  on  rapidly.  (See  Fig. 
33.)  The  dry-farmer  must  go  over  the  land  as  often 
as  needs  be  with  some  implement  that  will  destroy 
and  fill  up  the  cracks  that  may  have  been  formed. 
In  a  field  of  growing  crops  this  is  often  difficult  to 
do;  but  it  is  not  impossible  that  hand  hoeing,  ex- 
pensive as  it  is,  would  pay  well  in  the  saving  of  soil 
moisture  and  the  consequent  increase  in  crop  yield. 

How  soil  water  reaches  the  surface 

It  may  be  accepted  as  an  established  truth  that 
the  direct  evaporation  of  water  from  wet  soils  occurs 


142 


DRY-FARMING 


Fig.  33.  Many  soils  check  badly.  The  cracks  cause  a  loss  of  soil  mois- 
ture. Arid  soils  (this  picture  represents  a  heavy  clay  as  depicted  by 
Lyon  and  Fippin)  often  crack  extensively.  Cultivation  will  prevent 
the  loss  of  soil-moisture. 


almost  wholly  at  the  surface.  Yet  it  is  well  known 
that  evaporation  from  the  soil  surface  may  continue 
until  the  soil-moisture  to  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten 


CAPILLARY   ACTION 


143 


feet  or  more  is  depleted.  This  is  shown  by  the 
following  analyses  of  dry-farm  soil  in  early  spring 
and  midsummer.  No  attempt  was  made  to  conserve 
the  moisture  in  the  soil :  — 


Per  cent  of  water  in 

1st 
foot 

2d 
foot 

3d 
foot 

4th 
foot 

5th 
foot 

6th 

foot 

7th 
foot 

8th 
foot 

Average 

Early  Spring     .     . 
Midsummer      .     . 

20.84 
8.83 

20.06 
8.87 

19.62 
11.03 

18.28 
9.59 

18.70 
11.27 

14.29 
11.03 

14.48 
8.95 

13.83 
9.47 

17.51 

9.88 

In  this  case  water  had  undoubtedly  passed  by 
capillary  movement  from  the  depth  of  eight  feet 
to  a  point  near  the  surface  where  direct  evaporation 
could  occur.  As  explained  in  the  last  chapter, 
water  which  is  held  as  a  film  around  the  soil  particles 
is  called  capillary  water;  and  it  is  in  the  capillary 
form  that  water  may  be  stored  in  dry-farm  soils. 
Moreover,  it  is  the  capillary  soil-moisture  alone  which 
is  of  real  value  in  crop  production.  This  capillary 
water  tends  to  distribute  itself  uniformly  throughout 
the  soil,  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  conditions 
and  forces.  If  no  water  is  removed  from  the  soil, 
in  course  of  time  the  distribution  of  the  soil-water 
will  be  such  that  the  thickness  of  the  film  at  any  point 
in  the  soil  mass  is  a  direct  resultant  of  the  various 
forces  acting  at  that  particular  point.  There  will 
then  be  no  appreciable  movement  of  the  soil-mois- 
ture. Such  a  condition  is  approximated  in  late 
winter  or  early  spring  before  planting  begins.    The 


144  DRY-FARMIXG 

distribution  of  water  under  such  conditions  is  seen 
in  the  table  on  page  114  of  the  last  chapter.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  year,  however,  no  such  quies- 
cent state  can  occur,  for  there  are  numerous  dis- 
turbing elements  that  normally  are  active,  among 
which  the  three  most  effective  are  (1)  the  addition 
of  water  to  the  soil  by  rains:  (2)  the  evaporation  of 
water  from  the  topsoil,  due  to  the  more  active  meteor- 
ological factors  during  spring,  summer,  and  fall ;  and 
(3)  the  abstraction  of  water  from  the  soil  by  plant 
roots. 

Water,  entering  the  soil,  moves  downward  under 
the  influence  of  gravity  as  gravitational  water,  until 
under  the  attractive  influence  of  the  soil  it  has  been 
converted  into  capillary  water  and  adheres  to  the 
soil  particles  as  a  film.  If  the  soil  were  dry,  and  the 
film  therefore  thin,  the  rain  water  would  move  down- 
ward only  a  short  distance  as  gravitational  water; 
if  the  soil  were  wet,  and  the  film  therefore  thick, 
the  water  would  move  down  to  a  greater  distance 
before  being  exhausted.  If,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
humid  districts,  the  soil  is  saturated,  that  is,  the 
film  is  as  thick  as  the  particles  can  hold,  the  water 
would  pass  right  through  the  soil  and  connect  with 
the  standing  water  below.  This,  of  course,  is  sel- 
dom the  case  in  dry-farm  districts.  In  any  soil, 
excepting  one  already  saturated,  the  addition  of 
water  will  produce  a  thickening  of  the  soil-water 
film  to  the  full  descent  of  the  water.     This  imnie- 


MOVEMENT  OF   SOIL-MOISTURE  145 

diately  destroys  the  conditions  of  equilibrium  formerly 
existing,  for  the  moisture  is  not  now  uniformly  dis- 
tributed. Consequently  a  process  of  redistribution 
begins  which  continues  until  the  nearest  approach 
to  equilibrium  is  restored.  In  this  process  water 
will  pass  in  every  direction  from  the  wet  portion  of 
the  soil  to  the  drier ;  it  does  not  necessarily  mean  that 
water  will  actually  pass  from  the  wet  portion  to  the 
drier  portion;  usually,  at  the  driest  point  a  little 
water  is  drawn  from  the  adjoining  point,  which  in 
turn  draws  from  the  next,  and  that  from  the  next, 
until  the  redistribution  is  complete.  The  process 
is  very  much  like  stuffing  wool  into  a  sack  which 
already  is  loosely  filled.  The  new  wool  does  not 
reach  the  bottom  of  the  sack,  yet  there  is  more  wool 
in  the  bottom  than  there  was  before. 

If  a  plant-root  is  actively  feeding  some  distance 
under  the  soil  surface,  the  reverse  process  occurs. 
At  the  feeding  point  the  root  continually  abstracts 
water  from  the  soil  grains  and  thus  makes  the  film 
thinner  in  that  locality.  This  causes  a  movement 
of  moisture  similar  to  the  one  above  described,  from 
the  wetter  portions  of  the  soil  to  the  portion  being 
dried  out  by  the  action  of  the  plant-root.  Soil  many 
feet  or  even  rods  distant  may  assist  in  supplying 
such  an  active  root  with  moisture.  When  the  thou- 
sands of  tiny  roots  sent  out  by  each  plant  are  re- 
called, it  may  well  be  understood  what  a  confusion 
of  pulls  and  counter-pulls  upon  the  soil-moisture 


146  DRY-FARMING 

exists  in  any  cultivated  soil.  In  fact,  the  soil-water 
film  may  be  viewed  as  being  in  a  state  of  trembling 
activity,  tending  to  place  itself  in  full  equilibrium 
with  the  surrounding  contending  forces  which,  them- 
selves, constantly  change.  Were  it  not  that  the 
water  film  held  closely  around  the  soil  particles  is 
possessed  of  extreme  mobility,  it  would  not  be 
possible  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  plants  upon 
the  water  at  comparatively  great  distances.  Even 
as  it  is,  it  frequently  happens  that  when  crops  are 
planted  too  thickly  on  dry -farms,  the  soil-moisture 
cannot  move  quickly  enough  to  the  absorbing 
roots  to  maintain  plant  growth,  and  crop  failure 
results.  Incidentally,  this  points  to  planting  that 
shall  be  proportional  to  the  moisture  contained  by 
the  soil.     See  Chapter  XL 

As  the  temperature  rises  in  spring,  with  a  decrease 
in  the  relative  humidity,  and  an  increase  in  direct 
sunshine,  evaporation  from  the  soil  surface  increases 
greatly.  However,  as  the  topsoil  becomes  drier, 
that  is,  as  the  water  film  becomes  thinner,  there  is 
an  attempt  at  readjustment,  and  water  moves  up- 
ward to  take  the  place  of  that  lost  by  evaporation. 
As  this  continues  throughout  the  season,  the  moisture 
stored  eight  or  ten  feet  or  more  below  the  surface 
is  gradually  brought  to  the  top  and  evaporated,  and 
thus  lost  to  plant  use. 


HOW   SOILS   DRY   OUT  147 

The  effect  of  rapid  top  drying  of  soils 

As  the  water  held  by  soils  diminishes,  and  the 
water  film  around  the  soil  grains  becomes  thinner, 
the  capillary  movement  of  the  soil-water  is  retarded. 
This  is  easily  understood  by  recalling  that  the  soil 
particles  have  an  attraction  for  water,  which  is  of 
definite  value,  and  may  be  measured  by  the  thickest 
film  that  may  be  held  against  gravity.  When  the 
film  is  thinned,  it  does  not  diminish  the  attraction 
of  the  soil  for  water ;  it  simply  results  in  a  stronger 
pull  upon  the  water  and  a  firmer  holding  of  the  film 
against  the  surfaces  of  the  soil  grains.  To  move 
soil-water  under  such  conditions  requires  the  expen- 
diture of  more  energy  than  is  necessaiy  for  moving 
water  in  a  saturated  or  nearly  saturated  soil.  Under 
like  conditions,  therefore,  the  thinner  the  soil-water 
film  the  more  difficult  will  be  the  upward  movement 
of  the  soil-water  and  the  slower  the  evaporation  from 
the  topsoil. 

As  drying  goes  on,  a  point  is  reached  at  which  the 
capillary  movement  of  the  water  wholly  ceases. 
This  is  probably  when  little  more  than  the  hygro- 
scopic moisture  remains.  In  fact,  very  dry  soil 
and  water  repel  each  other.  This  is  shown  in  the 
common  experience  of  driving  along  a  road  in  sum- 
mer, immediately  after  a  light  shower.  The  masses 
of  dust  are  wetted  only  on  the  outside,  and  as  the 
wheels  pass  through  them  the  dry  dust  is  revealed. 


148  DRY-FARMING 

It  is  an  important  fact  that  very  dry  soil  furnishes 
a  very  effective  protection  against  the  capillary 
movement  of  water. 

In  accordance  with  the  principle  above  established, 
if  the  surface  soil  could  be  dried  to  the  point  where 
capillarity  is  very  slow,  the  evaporation  would  be 
diminished  or  almost  wholly  stopped.  More  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  Eser  showed  experimentally 
that  soil-water  may  be  saved  by  drying  the  surface 
soil  rapidly.  Under  dry -farm  conditions  it  frequently 
occurs  that  the  draft  upon  the  water  of  the  soil  is 
so  great  that  nearly  ail  the  water  is  quickly  and  so 
completely  abstracted  from  the  upper  few  inches  of 
soil  that  they  are  left  as  an  effective  protection  against 
further  evaporation.  For  instance,  in  localities 
where  hot  dry  winds  are  of  common  occurrence,  the 
upper  layer  of  soil  is  sometimes  completely  dried  be- 
fore the  water  in  the  lower  layers  can  by  slow  capil- 
lary movement  reach  the  top.  The  dry  soil  layer 
then  prevents  further  loss  of  water,  and  the  wind 
because  of  its  intensity  has  helped  to  conserve  the 
soil-moisture.  Similarly  in  localities  where  the  rela- 
tive humidity  is  low,  the  sunshine  abundant,  and 
the  temperature  high,  evaporation  may  go  on  so 
rapidly  that  the  lower  soil  layers  cannot  supply  the 
demands  made,  and  the  topsoil  then  dries  out  so 
completely  as  to  form  a  protective  covering  against 
further  evaporation.  It  is  on  this  principle  that  the 
native  desert  soils  of  the  United  States,  untouched 


CONDITIONS   OF   EVAPORATION  149 

by  the  plow,  and  the  surfaces  of  which  are  sun-baked, 
are  often  found  to  possess  large  percentages  of  water 
at  lower  depths.  Whitney  recorded  this  observation 
with  considerable  surprise,  many  years  ago,  and  other 
observers  have  found  the  same  conditions  at  nearly 
all  points  of  the  arid  region.  This  matter  has  been 
subjected  to  further  study  by  Buckingham,  who 
placed  a  variety  of  soils  under  artificially  arid  and 
humid  conditions.  It  was  found  in  every  case  that 
the  initial  evaporation  was  greater  under  arid  con- 
ditions, but  as  the  process  went  on  and  the  topsoil 
of  the  arid  soil  became  dry,  more  water  was  lost 
under  humid  conditions.  For  the  whole  experimen- 
tal period,  also,  more  water  was  lost  under  humid 
conditions.  It  was  notable  that  the  dry  protective 
layer  was  formed  more  slowly  on  alkali  soils,  which 
would  point  to  the  inadvisability  of  using  alkali  lands 
for  dry-farm  purposes.  All  in  all,  however,  it  ap- 
pears "  that  under  very  arid  conditions  a  soil  auto- 
matically protects  itself  from  drying  by  the  forma- 
tion of  a  natural  mulch  on  the  surface." 

Naturally,  dry-farm  soils  differ  greatly  in  their 
power  of  forming  such  a  mulch.  A  heavy  clay  or  a 
light  sandy  soil  appears  to  have  less  power  of  such 
automatic  protection  than  a  loamy  soil.  An  ad- 
mixture of  limestone  seems  to  favor  the  formation  of 
such  a  natural  protective  mulch.  Ordinarily,  the 
farmer  can  further  the  formation  of  a  dry  topsoil 
layer  by  stirring  the  soil  thoroughly.     This  assists 


150  DRY-FARMING 

the  sunshine  and  the  air  to  evaporate  the  water 
very  quickly.  Such  cultivation  is  very  desirable 
for  other  reasons  also,  as  will  soon  be  discussed. 
Meanwhile,  the  water-dissipating  forces  of  the  dry- 
farm  section  are  not  wholly  objectionable,  for 
whether  the  land  be  cultivated  or  not,  they  tend  to 
hasten  the  formation  of  dry  surface  layers  of  soil 
which  guard  against  excessive  evaporation.  It  is  in 
moist  cloudy  weather,  when  the  drying  process  is 
slow,  that  evaporation  causes  the  greatest  losses  of 
soil-moisture. 


The  effect  of  shading 

Direct  sunshine  is,  next  to  temperature,  the  most 
active  cause  of  rapid  evaporation  from  moist  soil 
surfaces.  Whenever,  therefore,  evaporation  is  not 
rapid  enough  to  form  a  dry  protective  layer  of  top- 
soil,  shading  helps  materially  in  reducing  surface 
losses  of  soil-water.  Under  very  arid  conditions, 
however,  it  is  questionable  whether  in  all  cases  shad- 
ing has  a  really  beneficial  effect,  though  under  semi- 
arid  or  sub-humid  conditions  the  benefits  derived 
from  shading  are  increased  largely.  Ebermayer 
showed  in  1873  that  the  shading  due  to  the  forest 
cover  reduced  evaporation  62  per  cent,  and  many 
experiments  since  that  day  have  confirmed  this 
conclusion.     At  the  Utah  Station,  under  arid  condi- 


SHADING   AND   EVAPORATION 


151 


tions,  it  was  found  that  shading  a  pot  of  soil,  which 
otherwise  was  subjected  to  water- dissipating  influ- 
ences, saved  29  per  cent  of  the  loss  due  to  evaporati*  >n 
from  a  pot  which  was  not  shaded.  This  principle 
cannot  be  applied  very  greatly  in  practice,  but  it 


Fig.  34.  Alfalfa  in  cultivated  rows.  This  practice  is  employed  to  make 
possible  the  growth  of  alfalfa  and  other  perennial  crops  on  arid  lands 
without  irrigation. 


points  to  a  somewhat  thick  planting,  proportioned 
to  the  water  held  by  the  soil.  It  also  shows  a  pos- 
sible benefit  to  be  derived  from  the  high  header 
straw  which  is  allowed  to  stand  for  several  weeks 
in  dry-farm  sections  where  the  liar  vest  comes 
early  and  the  fall  plowing  is  done  late,  as  in  the 
mountain  states.  The  high  header  stubble  shades 
the  ground  very  thoroughly.  Thus  the  stubble 
may  be  made  to  conserve  the  soil-moisture  in  dry- 


152  DRY-FARMING 

farm  sections,  where  grain  is  harvested  by  the 
"header"  method. 

A  special  case  of  shading  is  the  mulching  of  land 
with  straw  or  other  barnyard  litter,  or  with  leaves, 
as  in  the  forest.  Such  mulching  reduces  evaporation, 
but  only  in  part,  because  of  its  shading  action,  since 
it  acts  also  as  a  loose  top  layer  of  soil  matter  breaking 
communication  with  the  lower  soil  layers. 

Whenever  the  soil  is  carefully  stirred,  as  will  be 
described,  the  value  of  shading  as  a  means  of  checking 
evaporation  disappears  almost  entirely.  It  is  only 
with  soils  which  are  tolerably  moist  at  the  surface 
that  shading  acts  beneficially. 

The  effect  of  tillage 

Capillary  soil-moisture  moves  from  particle  to 
particle  until  the  surface  is  reached.  The  closer  the 
soil  grains  are  packed  together,  the  greater  the  num- 
ber of  points  of  contact,  and  the  more  easily  will  the 
movement  of  the  soil-moisture  proceed.  If  by  any 
means  a  layer  of  the  soil  is  so  loosened  as  to  reduce 
the  number  of  points  of  contact,  the  movement  of  the 
soil-moisture  is  correspondingly  hindered.  The  pro- 
cess is  somewhat  similar  to  the  experience  in  large 
railway  stations.  Just  before  train  time  a  great 
crowd  of  people  is  gathered  outside  of  the  gates  ready 
to  show  their  tickets.  If  one  gate  is  opened,  a  certain 
number  of  passengers  can  pass  through  each  minute ; 


TILLAGE    AND    EVAPORATION  153 

if  two  are  opened,  nearly  twice  as  many  may  be  ad- 
mitted in  the  same  time ;  if  more  gates  are  opened, 
the  passengers  will  be  able  to  enter  the  train  more 
rapidly.  The  water  in  the  lower  layers  of  the  soil  is 
ready  to  move  upward  whenever  a  call  is  made  upon 
it.  To  reach  the  surface  it  must  pass  from  soil  grain 
to  soil  grain,  and  the  larger  the  number  of  grains  that 
touch,  the  more  quickly  and  easily  will  the  water 
reach  the  surface,  for  the  points  of  contact  of  the  soil 
particles  may  be  likened  to  the  gates  of  the  railway 
station.  Now  if,  by  a  thorough  stirring  and  loosen- 
ing of  the  topsoil,  the  number  of  points  of  contact 
between  the  top  and  subsoil  is  greatly  reduced,  the 
upward  flow  of  water  is  thereby  largely  checked. 
Such  a  loosening  of  the  topsoil  for  the  purpose  of 
reducing  evaporation  from  the  topsoil  has  come  to 
be  called  cultivation,  and  includes  plowing,  harrow- 
ing, disking,  hoeing,  and  other  cultural  operations  by 
which  the  topsoil  is  stirred.  The  breaking  of  the 
points  of  contact  between  the  top  and  subsoil  is  un- 
doubtedly the  main  reason  for  the  efficiency  of  cul- 
tivation, but  it  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  such 
stirring  helps  to  dry  the  top  soil  very  thoroughly, 
and  as  has  been  explained  a  layer  of  dry  soil  of  itself 
is  a  very  effective  check  upon  surface  evaporation. 
(See  Fig.  35.) 

That  the  stirring  or  cultivation  of  the  topsoil 
really  does  diminish  evaporation  of  water  from  tin* 
soil  has   been  shown  by  numerous  investigations. 


154 


DBfY-FARMIXG 


In  1868,  Nessler  found  that  during  six  weeks  of  an 
ordinary  German  summer  a  stirred  soil  lost  510 
grams  of  water  per  square  foot,  while  the  adjoining 
compacted  soil  lost  1680  grams,  —  a  saving  due  to 
cultivation  of  nearly  60  per  cent.     Wagner,  testing 

m 


Fig.  35.     Tillage  forms  a  loose  dry  mulch  on  the  land  surface,  which 
prevents  evaporation. 

the  correctness  of  Nessler's  work,  found,  in  1874. 
that  cultivation  reduced  the  evaporation  a  little  more 
than  60  per  cent :  Johnson,  in  1878,  confirmed  the 
truth  of  the  principle  on  American  soils,  and  Levi 
Stockbridge,  working  about  the  same  time,  also  on 
American  soils,  found  that  cultivation  diminished 
evaporation  on  a  clay  soil  about  23  per  cent,  on  a 
sandy  loam  oo  per  cent,  and  on  a  heavy  loam  nearly 
13  per  cent.  All  the  early  work  done  on  this  subject 
was  done  under  humid  conditions,  and  it  is  only  in 


TILLAGE   AND   EVAPORATION  155 

recent  years  that  confirmation  of  this  important 
principle  has  been  obtained  for  the  soils  of  the  dry- 
farm  region.  Fortier,  working  under  California  con- 
ditions, determined  that  cultivation  reduced  the 
evaporation  from  the  soil  surface  over  55  per  cent. 
At  the  Utah  Station  similar  experiments  have  shown 
that  the  saving  of  soil-moisture  by  cultivation  was  63 
per  cent  for  a  clay  soil,  34  per  cent  for  a  coarse  sand, 
and  13  per  cent  for  a  clay  loam.  Further,  practical 
experience  has  demonstrated  time  and  time  again  that 
in  cultivation  the  dry-farmer  has  a  powerful  means 
of  preventing  evaporation  from  agricultural  soils. 

Closely  connected  with  cultivation  is  the  practice 
of  scattering  straw  or  other  litter  over  the  ground. 
Such  artificial  mulches  are  very  effective  in  reducing 
evaporation.  Ebermayer  found  that  by  spreading 
straw  on  the  land,  the  evaporation  was  reduced  22 
per  cent;  Wagner  found  under  similar  conditions  a 
Saving  of  38  per  cent,  and  these  results  have  been 
confirmed  by  many  other  investigators.  On  the 
modern  dry-farms,  which  are  large  in  area,  the  arti- 
ficial mulching  of  soils  cannot  become  a  very  exten- 
sive practice,  yet  it  is  well  to  bear  the  principle  in 
mind.  The  practice  of  harvesting  dry-farm  grain 
with  the  header  and  plowing  under  the  high  stubble 
in  the  fall  is  a  phase  of  cultivation  for  water  conser- 
vation that  deserves  special  notice.  The  straw,  thus 
incorporated  into  the  soil,  decomposes  quite  readily 
in  spite  of  the  popular  notion  to  the  contrary,  and 


156 


DRY-FARMING 


makes  the  soil  more  porous,  and,  therefore,  more  ef- 
fectively worked  for  the  prevention  of  evaporation. 
When  this  practice  is  continued  for  considerable 
periods,  the  topsoil  becomes  rich  in  organic  matter, 


Fig.  36. 


Dry-farm  flax  in  Fergus  Co..  Montana, 
per  acre. 


1909.    Yield,  22  bushels 


which  assists  in  retarding  evaporation,  besides  increas- 
ing the  fertility  of  the  land.  When  straw  cannot  be 
fed  to  advantage,  as  is  yet  the  case  on  many  of  the 
western  dry-farms,  it  would  be  better  to  scatter  it 
over  the  land  than  to  burn  it,  as  is  often  done.  Any- 
thing that  covers  the  ground  or  loosens  the  topsoil 
prevents  in  a  measure  the  evaporation  of  the  water 
stored  in  lower  soil  depths  for  the  use  of  crops. 


TILLAGE   AND    EVAPORATION  157 

Depth  of  cultivation 

The  all-important  practice  for  the  dry-farmer  who 
is  entering  upon  the  growing  season  is  cultivation. 
The  soil  must  be  covered  continually  with  a  deep 
layer  of  dry  loose  soil,  which  because  of  its  looseness 
and  dryness  makes  evaporation  difficult.  A  leading 
question  in  connection  with  cultivation  is  the  depth 
to  which  the  soil  should  be  stirred  for  the  best  results. 
Many  of  the  early  students  of  the  subject  found  that 
a  soil  mulch  only  one  half  inch  in  depth  was  effective 
in  retaining  a  large  part  of  the  soil-moisture  which 
noncultivated  soils  would  lose  by  evaporation. 
Soils  differ  greatly  in  the  rate  of  evaporation  from 
their  surfaces.  Some  form  a  natural  mulch  when 
dried,  which  prevents  further  water  loss.  Others  form 
only  a  thin  hard  crust,  below  which  lies  an  active 
evaporating  surface  of  wet  soil.  Soils  which  dry  out 
readily  and  crumble  on  top  into  a  natural  mulch 
should  be  cultivated  deeply,  for  a  shallow  cultivation 
does  not  extend  beyond  the  naturally  formed  mulch. 
In  fact,  on  certain  calcareous  soils,  the  surfaces  of 
which  dry  out  quickly  and  form  a  good  protection 
against  evaporation,  shallow  cultivations  often  cause 
a  greater  evaporation  by  disturbing  the  almost  per- 
fect natural  mulch.  Clay  or  sand  soils,  which  do  not 
so  well  form  a  natural  mulch,  will  respond  much  better 
to  shallow  cultivations.  In  general,  however,  the 
deeper  the  cultivation,  the  more  effective  it  is  in  re- 


158  DRY-FARMING 

during  evaporation.  Fortier,  in  the  experiments  in 
California  to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made, 
showed  the  greater  value  of  deep  cultivation.  Dur- 
ing a  period  of  fifteen  days,  beginning  immediately 
after  an  irrigation,  the  soil  which  had  not  been 
mulched  lost  by  evaporation  nearly  one  fourth  of 
the  total  amount  of  water  that  had  been  added.  A 
mulch  4  inches  deep  saved  about  72  per  cent  of  the 
evaporation:  a  mulch  8  inches  deep  saved  about  88 
per  cent,  and  a  mulch  10  inches  deep  stopped  evapo- 
ration almost  wholly.  It  is  a  most  serious  mis- 
take for  the  dry -farmer,  who  attempts  cultivation 
for  soil-moisture  conservation,  to  fail  to  get  the  best 
results  simply  to  save  a  few  cents  per  acre  in  added 
labor. 

When  to  cultivate  or  till 

It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  rate  of  evap- 
oration is  greater  from  a  wet  than  from  a  dry  surface. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  critical  time  for  pre- 
venting evaporation  is  when  the  soil  is  wettest. 
After  the  soil  is  tolerably  dry,  a  very  large  portion 
of  the  soil-moisture  has  been  lost,  which  possibly 
might  have  been  saved  by  earlier  cultivation.  The 
truth  of  this  statement  is  well  shown  by  experiments 
conducted  by  the  Utah  Station.  In  one  case  on  a  soil 
well  filled  with  water,  during  a  three  weeks'  period, 
nearly  one  half  of  the  total  loss  occurred  the  first, 
while  onlv  one  fifth  fell  on  the  third  week.     Of  the 


REGULATING    THE    EVAPORATION  159 

amount  lost  during  the  first  week,  over  60  per  cent 
occurred  during  the  first  three  days.  Cultivation 
should,  therefore,  be  practiced  as  soon  as  possible 
after  conditions  favorable  for  evaporation  have  been 
established.  This  means,  first,  that  in  early  spring, 
just  as  soon  as  the  land  is  dry  enough  to  be  worked 
without  causing  puddling,  the  soil  should  be  deeply 
and  thoroughly  stirred.  Spring  plowing,  done  as 
early  as  possible,  is  an  excellent  practice  for  forming 
a  mulch  against  evaporation.  Even  when  the  land 
has  been  fall-plowed,  spring  plowing  is  very  bene- 
ficial, though  on  fall-plowed  land  the  disk  harrow  is 
usually  used  in  early  spring,  and  if  it  is  set  at  rather  a 
sharp  angle,  and  properly  weighted,  so  that  it  cuts 
deeply  into  the  ground,  it  is  practically  as  effective 
as  spring  plowing.  The  chief  danger  to  the  dry- 
farmer  is  that  he  will  permit  the  early  spring  days 
to  slip  by  until,  when  at  last  he  begins  spring  culti- 
vation, a  large  portion  of  the  stored  soil-water  has 
been  evaporated.  It  may  be  said  that  deep  fall 
plowing,  by  permitting  the  moisture  to  sink  quickly 
into  the  lower  layers  of  soil,  makes  it  possible  to  get 
upon  the  ground  earlier  in  the  spring.  In  fact,  un- 
plowed  land  cannot  be  cultivated  as  early  as  that 
which  has  gone  through  the  winter  in  a  plowed 
condition. 

If  the  land  carries  a  fall-sown  crop,  early  spring 
cultivation  is  doubly  important.  As  soon  as  the 
plants  are  well  up  in  spring  the  land  should  be  gone 


160  DRY-FARMING 

over  thoroughly  several  times  if  necessary,  with  an 
iron  tooth  harrow,  the  teeth  of  which  are  set  to  slant 
backward  in  order  not  to  tear  up  the  plants.  The 
loose  earth  mulch  thus  formed  is  very  effective  in 
conserving  moisture ;  and  the  few  plants  torn  up  are 
more  than  paid  for  by  the  increased  water  supply  for 
the  remaining  plants.  The  wise  dry-farmer  culti- 
vates his  land,  whether  fallow  or  cropped,  as  early 
as  possible  in  the  spring. 

Following  the  first  spring  plowing,  disking,  or  culti- 
vation, must  come  more  cultivation.  Soon  after  the 
spring  plowing,  the  land  should  be  disked  and  then 
harrowed.  Every  device  should  be  used  to  secure 
the  formation  of  a  layer  of  loose  drying  soil  over  the 
land  surface.  The  season's  crop  will  depend  largely 
upon  the  effectiveness  of  this  spring  treatment. 

As  the  season  advances,  three  causes  combine  to 
permit  the  evaporation  of  soil-moisture. 

First,  there  is  a  natural  tendency,  under  the  some- 
what moist  conditions  of  spring,  for  the  soil  to  settle 
compactly  and  thus  to  restore  the  numerous  capillary 
connections  with  the  lower  soil  layers  through  which 
water  escapes.  Careful  watch  should  therefore  be 
kept  upon  the  soil  surface,  and  whenever  the  mulch 
is  not  loose,  the  disk  or  harrow  should  be  run  over 
the  land. 

Secondly,  every  rain  of  spring  or  summer  tends  to 
establish  connections  with  the  store  of  moisture  in 
the  soil.     In  fact,  late  spring  and  summer  rains  are 


162  DRY-FARMING 

often  a  disadvantage  on  dry-farms,  which  by  cul- 
tural treatment  have  been  made  to  contain  a  large 
store  of  moisture.  It  has  been  shown  repeatedly 
that  light  rains  draw  moisture  very  quickly  from 
soil  layers  many  feet  below  the  surface.  The  rain- 
less summer  is  not  feared  by  the  dry-farmer  whose 
soils  are  fertile  and  rich  in  moisture.  It  is  impera- 
tive that  at  the  very  earliest  moment  after  a  spring 
or  summer  rain  the  topsoil  be  well  stirred  to  prevent 
evaporation.  It  thus  happens  that  in  sections  of 
frequent  summer  rains,  as  in  the  Great  Plains  area, 
the  farmer  has  to  harrow  his  land  many  times  in 
succession,  but  the  increased  crop  yields  invariably 
justify  the  added  expenditure  of  effort. 

Thirdly,  on  the  summer-fallowed  ground  weeds 
start  vigorously  in  the  spring  and  draw  upon  the  soil- 
moisture,  if  allowed  to  grow,  fully  as  heavily  as  a  crop 
of  wheat  or  corn.  The  dry-farmer  must  not  allow 
a  weed  upon  his  land.  Cultivation  must  be  so  con- 
tinuous as  to  make  weeds  an  impossibility.  The 
belief  that  the  elements  added  to  the  soil  by  weeds 
offset  the  loss  of  soil-moisture  is  wholly  erroneous. 
The  growth  of  weeds  on  a  fallow  dry-farm  is  more 
dangerous  than  the  packed  uncared-for.  topsoil. 
Many  implements  have  been  devised  for  the  easy 
killing  of  weeds,  but  none  appear  to  be  better  than 
the  plow  and  the  disk  which  are  found  on  every  farm. 
(See  Chapter  XV.) 

When  crops  are  growing  on  the  land,  thorough 


REGULATING   THE   EVAPORATION  163 

summer  cultivation  is  somewhat  more  difficult,  but 
must  be  practiced  for  the  greatest  certainty  of  crop 
yields.  Potatoes,  corn,  and  similar  crops  may  be 
cultivated  with  comparative  ease,  by  the  use  of 
ordinary  cultivators.  With  wheat  and  the  other 
small  grains,  generally,  the  damage  done  to  the  crop 
by  harrowing  late  in  the  season  is  too  great,  and 
reliance  is  therefore  placed  on  the  shading  power  of 
the  plants  to  prevent  undue  evaporation.  However, 
until  the  wheat  and  other  grains  are  ten  to  twelve 
inches  high,  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  harrow  them.  The 
teeth  should  be  set  backward  to  diminish  the  tearing 
up  of  the  plants,  and  the  implement  weighted  enough 
to  break  the  soil  crust  thoroughly.  This  practice 
has  been  fully  tried  out  over  the  larger  part  of  the 
dry-farm  territory  and  found  satisfactory. 

So  vitally  important  is  a  permanent  soil  mulch  for 
the  conservation  for  plant  use  of  the  water  stored  in 
the  soil  that  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  de- 
vise means  for  the  effective  cultivation  of  land  on 
which  small  grains  and  grasses  are  growing.  In 
many  places  plants  have  been  grown  in  rows  so  far 
apart  that  a  man  with  a  hoe  could  pass  between 
them.  Scofield  has  described  this  method  as  prac- 
ticed successfully  in  Tunis.  Campbell  and  others 
in  America  have  proposed  that  a  drill  hole  be  closed 
every  three  feet  to  form  a  path  wide  enough  for  a 
horse  to  travel  in  and  to  pull  a  large  spring  tooth 
cultivator,  with  teeth  so  spaced  as  to  strike  between 


164  DRY-FARMING 

the  rows  of  wheat.  It  is  yet  doubtful  whether,  under 
average  conditions,  such  careful  cultivation,  at  least 
of  grain  crops,  is  justified  by  the  returns.  Under 
conditions  of  high  aridity,  or  where  the  store  of  soil- 
moisture  is  low,  such  treatment  frequently  stands 
between  crop  success  and  failure,  and  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  methods  will  be  devised  which  will  permit 
of  the  cheap  and  rapid  cultivation  between  the  rows 
of  growing  wheat.  Meanwhile,  the  dry-farmer  must 
always  remember  that  the  margin  under  which  he 
works  is  small,  and  that  his  success  depends  upon  the 
degree  to  which  he  prevents  small  wastes. 

The  conservation  of  soil-moisture  depends  upon  the 
vigorous,  unremitting,  continuous  stirring  of  the  top- 
soil.  Cultivation!  cultivation!  and  more  cultiva- 
tion !  must  be  the  war-cry  of  the  dry-farmer  who 
battles  against  the  water  thieves  of  an  arid  climate. 


CHAPTER  IX 

REGULATING   THE    TRANSPIRATION 

Water  that  has  entered  the  soil  may  be  lost  in 
three  ways.  First,  it  may  escape  by  downward 
seepage,  whereby  it  passes  beyond  the  reach  of  plant 
roots  and  often  reaches  the  standing  water.  In  dry- 
farm  districts  such  loss  is  a  rare  occurrence,  for  the 
natural  precipitation  is  not  sufficiently  large  to  con- 
nect with  the  country  drainage,  and  it  may,  therefore, 
be  eliminated  from  consideration.  Second,  soil- 
water  may  be  lost  by  direct  evaporation  from  the  sur- 
face soil.  The  conditions  prevailing  in  arid  districts 
favor  strongly  this  manner  of  loss  of  soil-moisture. 
It  has  been  shown,  however,  in  the  preceding  chapter 
that  the  farmer,  by  proper  and  persistent  cultivation 
of  the  topsoil,  has  it  in  his  power  to  reduce  this 
loss  enough  to  be  almost  negligible  in  the  farmer's 
consideration.  Third,  soil-water  may  be  lost  by 
evaporation  from  the  plants  themselves.  While  it 
is  not  generally  understood,  this  source  of  loss  is,  in 
districts  where  dry-farming  is  properly  carried  on, 
very  much  larger  than  that  resulting  either  from  seep- 
age or  from  direct  evaporation.  While  plants  are 
growing,  evaporation  from  plants,  ordinarily  called 
transpiration,    continues.     Experiments    performed 

165 


166  DRY-FARMING 

in  various  arid  districts  have  shown  that  one  and 
a  half  to  three  times  more  water  evaporates  from 
the  plant  than  directly  from  well-tilled  soil.  To  the 
present  very  little  has  been  learned  concerning  the 
most  effective  methods  of  checking  or  controlling 
this  continual  loss  of  water.  Transpiration,  or  the 
evaporation  of  water  from  the  plants  themselv 
and  the  means  of  controlling  this  loss,  are  subjects  of 
the  deepest  importance  to  the  dry-farmer. 

Absorption 

To  understand  the  methods  for  reducing  trans- 
piration, as  proposed  in  this  chapter,  it  is  necessary 
to  review  briefly  the  manner  in  which  plants  take 
water  from  the  soil.  The  roots  are  the  organs  of 
water  absorption.  Practically  no  water  is  taken  into 
the  plants  by  the  stems  or  leaves,  even  under  condi- 
tions of  heavy  rainfall.  Such  small  quantities  as 
may  enter  the  plant  through  the  stems  and  leaves  are 
of  very  little  value  in  furthering  the  life  and  growth 
of  the  plant.  The  roots  alone  are  of  real  coi. 
quence  in  water  absorption.  All  parts  of  the  roots  do 
not  possess  equal  power  of  taking  up  soil-water.  In 
the  process  of  water  absorption  the  younger  roots 
are  most  active  and  effective.  Even  of  the  young 
roots,  however,  only  certain  parts  are  actively  en- 
gaged in  water  absorption.  At  the  very  tips  of  the 
young  growing  roots  are  numerous  fine  hairs,  shown 


ABSORPTION    BY   ROOTS 


16? 


largely  magnified  in  Figure  38.     These  root-hairs, 
which  cluster  about  the 
growing   point   of   the 
young    roots,    are   the 
organs    of    the    plant 
that  absorb  soil-water. 
They  are  of  value  only 
for  limited  periods  of 
time,  for  as  they  grow 
older,   they  lose   their 
power  of  water  absorp- 
tion.    In  fact,  they  are 
active  only  when  they 
are   in   actual   process 
of  growth.     It  follows, 
therefore,    that    water 
absorption  occurs  near 
the  tips  of  the  growing 
roots,  and  whenever  a 
plant  ceases    to    grow 
the    water    absorption 
ceases  also.     The  root- 
hairs  are  filled  with  a 
dilute  solution  of  vari- 
ous substances,  as  yet 
poorly   understood, 

i'ii  .  Fig.  38.      u       Wheat  root,  showing 

WniCn   plays   an   impor-   soil  particles  clinging  to  the  lower  part 

tant   part   in   the   ab-  where  the  root-hairs  are  active- 
sorption   of  water  and   plant-food   from  the   soil. 


168  DRY-FARMING 

Owing  to  their  minuteness,  the  root-hairs  are  in 
most  cases  immersed  in  the  water  film  that  surrounds 
the  soil  particles,  and  the  soil-water  is  taken  directly 
into  the  roots  from  the  soil-water  film  by  the  process 
known  as  osmosis.  The  explanation  of  this  inward 
movement  is  complicated  and  need  not  be  discussed 
here.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  concentration  or 
strength  of  the  solution  within  the  root-hair  is  of  dif- 
ferent degree  from  the  soil-water  solution.  The  water 
tends,  therefore,  to  move  from  the  soil  into  the  root, 
in  order  to  make  the  solutions  inside  and  outside  of 
the  root  of  the  same  concentration.  If  it  should  ever 
occur  that  the  soil-water  and  the  water  within  the 
root-hair  became  the  same  concentration,  that  is  to 
say,  contained  the  same  substances  in  the  same  pro- 
portional amounts,  there  would  be  no  further  inward 
movement  of  water.  Moreover,  if  it  should  happen 
that  the  soil-water  is  stronger  than  the  water  within 
the  root-hair,  the  water  would  tend  to  pass  from  the 
plant  into  the  soil.  This  is  the  condition  that  pre- 
vails in  many  alkali  lands  of  the  West,  and  is  the 
cause  of  the  death  of  plants  growing  on  such  lands. 

It  is  clear  that  under  these  circumstances  not  only 
water  enters  the  root-hairs,  but  many  of  the  sub- 
stances found  in  solution  in  the  soil-water  enter  the 
plant  also.  Among  these  are  the  mineral  substances 
which  are  indispensable  for  the  proper  life  and  growth 
of  plants.  These  plant  nutrients  are  so  indispen- 
sable that  if  any  one  of  them  is  absent,  it  is  absolutely 


FUNCTIONS   OF   ROOT-HAIRS 


169 


impossible  for  the  plant  to  continue  its  life  functions. 
The  indispensable  plant-foods  gathered  from  the  soil 
by  the  root-hairs,  in  addition  to  water,  are :  potas- 
sium, calcium,  magnesium,  iron,  nitrogen,  and  phos- 
phorus, —  all  in  their  proper  combinations.  How  the 
plant  uses  these  substances  is  yet  poorly  understood, 


Fig.  39.     Penetration  of  a  root-hair  through  soil. 


but  we  are  fairly  certain  that  each  one  has  some 
particular  function  in  the  life  of  the  plant.  For 
instance,  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  are  probably 
necessary  in  the  formation  of  the  protein  or  the 
flesh-forming  portions  of  the  plant,  while  potash 
is  especially  valuable  in  the  formation  of  starch. 

There  is  a  constant  movement  of  the  indispensable 
plant  nutrients  after  the}'  have  entered  the  root-hairs, 


170  DRY-FARMING 

through  the  stems  and  into  the  leaves.  This  con- 
stant movement  of  the  plant-foods  depends  upon  the 
fact  that  the  plant  consumes  in  its  growth  consider- 
able quantities  of  these  substances,  and  as  the  plant 
juices  are  diminished  in  their  content  of  particular 
plant-foods,  more  enters  from  the  soil  solution.  The 
necessary  plant-foods  do  not  alone  enter  the  plant, 
but  whatever  may  be  in  solution  in  the  soil-water 
enters  the  plant  in  variable  quantities.  Nevertheless, 
since  the  plant  uses  only  a  few  definite  substances  and 
leaves  the  unnecessary  ones  in  solution,  there  is  soon 
a  cessation  of  the  inward  movement  of  the  unimpor- 
tant constituents  of  the  soil  solution.  This  proa 
is  often  spoken  of  as  selective  absorption;  that  is, 
the  plant,  because  of  its  vital  activity,  appears  to 
have  the  power  of  selecting  from  the  soil  certain 
substances  and  rejecting  others. 

Movement  of  water  through  the  plant 

The  soil-water,  holding  in  solution  a  great  variety 
of  plant  nutrients,  passes  from  the  root-hairs  into 
the  adjoining  cells  and  gradually  moves  from  cell  to 
cell  throughout  the  whole  plant.  In  many  plants 
this  stream  of  water  does  not  simply  pass  from  cell 
to  cell,  but  moves  through  tubes  that  apparently 
have  been  formed  for  the  specific  purpose  of  aiding 
the  movement  of  water  through  the  plant.  The 
rapidity  of  this  current  is  often  considerable.     Or- 


WATER   MOVEMENT   IN    PLANT 


171 


dinarily,  it  varies  from  one  foot  to  six  feet  per  hour, 
though  observations  are  on  record  showing  that  the 
movement  often  reaches  the  rate  of  eighteen  feet  per 
hour.     It  is  evident, 
then,  that  in  an  ac- 
tively growing  plant 
it  does  not  take  long 
for  the  water  which  is 
in  the  soil  to  find  its 
way    to    the    upper- 
most   parts    of    the 
plant. 

The  work  of  leaves 
Whether   water„ 

Fro.    40.     Magnified    root-hairs,    showing 
passes     Upward    from     how  soil  particles  are  attached  to  them. 

cell  to  cell  or  through 

especially  provided  tubes,  it  reaches  at  last  the 
leaves,  where  evaporation  takes  place.  It  is  nec- 
essary to  consider  in  greater  detail  what  takes  place 
in  leaves  in  order  that  we  may  more  clearly  under- 
stand the  loss  due  to  transpiration.  One  half  or 
more  of  every  plant  is  made  up  of  the  element  carbon. 
The  remainder  of  the  plant  consists  of  the  mineral 
substances  taken  from  the  soil  (not  more  than  two  to 
10  per  cent  of  the  dry  plant)  and  water  which  has 
been  combined  with  the  carbon  and  these  mineral 
substances  to  form  the  characteristic  products  of 
plant  life.    The  carbon  which  forms  over  half  of  the 


172  DRY-FARMING 

plant  substance  is  gathered  from  the  air  by  the 
leaves  and  it  is  evident  that  the  leaves  are  very 
active  agents  of  plant  growth.  The  atmosphere 
consists  chiefly  of  the  gases  oxygen  and  nitrogen  in 
the  proportion  of  one  to  four,  but  associated  with 
them  are  small  quantities  of  various  other  substances. 
Chief  among  the  secondary  constituents  of  the  at- 
mosphere is  the  gas  carbon  dioxid,  which  is  formed 
when  carbon  burns,  that  is,  when  carbon  unites  with 
the  oxygen  of  the  air.  Whenever  coal  or  wood  or 
any  carbonaceous  substance  burns,  carbon  dioxid 
is  formed.  Leaves  have  the  power  of  absorbing 
the  gas  carbon  dioxid  from  the  air  and  separating 
the  carbon  from  the  oxygen.  The  oxygen  is  returned 
to  the  atmosphere  while  the  carbon  is  retained  to  be 
used  as  the  fundamental  substance  in  the  construc- 
tion by  the  plant  of  oils,  fats,  starches,  sugars,  pro- 
tein, and  all  the  other  products  of  plant  growth. 

This  important  process  known  as  carbon  assimila- 
tion is  made  possible  by  the  aid  of  countless  small 
openings  which  exist  chiefly  on  the  surfaces  of  leaves 
and  known  as  "stomata."  The  stomata  are  delicately 
balanced  valves,  exceedingly  sensitive  to  external 
influences.  Their  appearance  under  a  high  power  mi- 
croscope is  shown  in  Figures  41  and  42.  They  are 
more  numerous  on  the  lower  side  than  on  the  upper 
side  of  plants.  In  fact,  there  is  often  five  times  more 
on  the  under  side  than  on  the  upper  side  of  a  leaf.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  150,000  stomata  or  more  are 


OFFICE    OF   STOMATA 


173 


often  found  per  square  inch  on  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves  of  ordinary  cultivated  plants.     The  stomata 


A  C 

Fig.  41.     Diagram  of  open  and  partly  closed  breathing-pores  on  leaves. 
Through  these  openings  water  escapes  from  the  plant.    (From    King's 


') 

so  constructed  that  they  may 


"  Irrigation  and  Drainage. 

or  breathing-pores  are 
open  and  close  very 
readily.  In  wilted 
leaves  they  are  prac- 
tically closed ;  often 
they  also  close  im- 
mediately after  a 
rain;  but  in  strong 
sunlight  they  are 
usually  wide  open. 
It  is  through  the 
stomata  that  the 
gases  of  the  air  enter 
the  plant  through 
which  the  discarded 
oxygen  returns  to  the  atmosphere. 

It  is  also  through  the  stomata  that  the  water  which 


Fig.  42.     Photograph  <>t  stomata  or  breath- 
ing-pores on  under  side  of  leaf. 


174  DRY-FARMING 

is  drawn  from  the  soil  by  the  roots  through  the  stems 
is  evaporated  into  the  air.  There  is  some  evapora- 
tion of  water  from  the  stems  and  branches  of  plants, 
but  it  is  seldom  more  than  a  thirtieth  or  a  fortieth  of 
the  total  transpiration.  The  evaporation  of  water 
from  the  leaves  through  the  breathing-pores  is  the 
so-called  transpiration,  which  is  the  greatest  cause 
of  the  loss  of  soil-water  under  dry-farm  conditions. 
It  is  to  the  prevention  of  this  transpiration  that 
much  investigation  must  be  given  by  future  students 
of  dry-farming. 

Transpiration 

As  water  evaporates  through  the  breathing-pores 
from  the  leaves  it  necessarily  follows  that  a  demand 
is  made  upon  the  lower  portions  of  the  plant  for 
more  water.  The  effect  of  the  loss  of  water  is  felt 
throughout  the  whole  plant  and  is,  undoubtedly,  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  the  absorption  of  water  from 
the  soil.  As  evaporation  is  diminished  the  amount 
of  water  that  enters  the  plants  is  also  diminished. 
Yet  transpiration  appears  to  be  a  process  wholly 
necessary  for  plant  life.  The  question  is,  simply, 
to  what  extent  it  may  be  diminished  without  injuring 
plant  growth.  Many  students  believe  that  the  car- 
bon assimilation  of  the  plant,  which  is  fundamentally 
important  in  plant  growth,  cannot  be  continued  un- 
less there  is  a  steady  stream  of  water  passing  through 
the  plant  and  then  evaporating  from  the  leaves. 


TRANSPIRATION   FROM    PLANTS  175 

Of  one  thing  we  are  fairly  sure :  if  the  upward  stream 
of  water  is  wholly  stopped  for  even  a  few  hours,  the 
plant  is  likely  to  be  so  severely  injured  as  to  be  greatly 
handicapped  in  its  future  growth. 

Botanical  authorities  agree  that  transpiration  is 
of  value  to  plant  growth,  first,  because  it  helps  to  dis- 
tribute the  mineral  nutrients  necessary  for  plant 
growth  uniformly  throughout  the  plant;  secondly, 
because  it  permits  an  active  assimilation  of  the  car- 
bon by  the  leaves ;  thirdly,  because  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  the  heat  required  to  evaporate  water,  in  large 
part  taken  from  the  plant  itself,  prevents  the  plant 
from  being  overheated.  This  last  mentioned  value  of 
transpiration  is  especially  important  in  dry-farm 
districts,  where,  during  the  summer,  the  heat  is  often 
intense.  Fourthly,  transpiration  apparently  influ- 
ences plant  growth  and  development  in  a  number  of 
wavs  not  yet  clearly  understood. 

Conditions  influencing  transpiration 

In  general,  the  conditions  that  determine  the 
evaporation  of  water  from  the  leaves  are  the  same 
as  those  that  favor  the  direct  evaporation  of  water 
from  soils,  although  there  seems  to  be  something  in 
the  life  process  of  the  plant,  a  physiological  factor, 
which  permits  or  prevents  the  ordinary  water-dis- 
sipating factors  from  exercising  their  full  powers. 
That  the  evaporation  of  water  from  the  soil  or  from 


176  DRY-FARMING 

a  free  water  surface  is  not  the  same  as  that  from 
plant  leaves  may  be  shown  in  a  general  way  from  the 
fact  that  the  amount  of  water  transpired  from  a 
given  area  of  leaf  surface  may  be  very  much  larger 
or  very  much  smaller  than  that  evaporated  from  an 
equal  surface  of  free  water  exposed  to  the  same  con- 
ditions. It  is  further  shown  by  the  fact  that  whereas 
evaporation  from  a  free  water  surface  goes  on  with 
little  or  no  interruption  throughout  the  twenty-four 
hours  of  the  day.  transpiration  is  virtually  at  a  stand- 
still at  night  even  though  the  conditions  for  the  rapid 
evaporation  from  a  free  water  surface  are  present. 

Some  of  the  conditions  influencing  the  transpira- 
tion may  be  enumerated  as  follows:  — 

First,  transpiration  is  influenced  by  the  relative 
humidity.  In  dry  air,  under  otherwise  similar  con- 
ditions, plants  transpire  more  water  than  in  moist  air, 
though  it  is  to  be  noted  that  even  when  the  atmos- 
phere is  fully  saturated,  so  that  no  water  evaporates 
from  a  free  water  surface,  the  transpiration  of  plants 
still  continues  in  a  small  degree.  This  is  explained 
by  the  observation  that  since  the  life  process  of  a 
plant  produces  a  certain  amount  of  heat,  the  plant 
is  always  warmer  than  the  surrounding  air  and  that 
transpiration  into  an  atmosphere  fully  charged  with 
water  vapor  is  consequently  made  possible.  The 
fact  that  transpiration  is  greater  under  a  low  relative 
humidity  is  of  greatest  importance  to  the  dry-farmer, 
who  has  to  contend  with  the  dry  atmosphere. 


TRANSPIRATION   FROM   PLANTS  177 

Second,  transpiration  increases  with  the  increase 
in  temperature;  that  is,  under  conditions  otherwise 
the  same,  transpiration  is  more  rapid  on  a  warm  day 
than  on  a  cold  one.  The  temperature  increase  of  it- 
self, however,  is  not  sufficient  to  cause  transpiration. 

Third,  transpiration  increases  with  the  increase  of 
air  currents,  which  is  to  say,  that  on  a  windy  day 
transpiration  is  much  more  rapid  than  on  a  quiet  day. 

Fourth,  transpiration  increases  with  the  increase 
of  direct  sunlight.  It  is  an  interesting  observatioi: 
that  even  with  the  same  relative  humidity,  tempera- 
ture, and  wind,  transpiration  is  reduced  to  a  minimum 
during  the  night  and  increases  manyfold  during  the 
day  when  direct  sunlight  is  available.  This  condi- 
tion is  again  to  be  noted  by  the  dry-farmer,  for  the 
dry-farm  districts  are  characterized  by  an  abundance 
of  sunshine. 

Fifth,  transpiration  is  decreased  by  the  presence 
in  the  soil-water  of  large  quantities  of  the  substances 
which  the  plant  needs  for  its  food  material.  This 
will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  the  next  section. 

Sixth,  any  mechanical  vibration  of  the  plant 
seems  to  have  some  effect  upon  the  transpiration. 
At  times  it  is  increased  and  at  times  it  is  decreased  by 
such  mechanical  disturbance. 

Seventh,  transpiration  varies  also  with  the  age  of 
the  plant.  In  the  young  plant  it  is  comparatively 
small.  Just  before  blooming  it  is  very  much  larger 
and  in  time  of  bloom  it  is  the  largest  in  the  history  of 


178  DRY-FARMING 

the  plant.  As  the  plant  grows  older  transpiration 
diminishes,  and  finally  at  the  ripening  stage  it  almost 
ceases. 

Eighth,  transpiration  varies  greatly  with  the  crop. 
Not  all  plants  take  water  from  the  soil  at  the  same 
rate.  Very  little  is  as  yet  known  about  the  relative 
water  requirements  of  crops  on  the  basis  of  transpira- 
tion. As  an  illustration,  MacDougall  has  reported 
that  sagebrush  uses  about  one  fourth  as  much  water 
as  a  tomato  plant.  Even  greater  differences  exist 
between  other  plants.  This  is  one  of  the  interesting 
subjects  yet  to  be  investigated  by  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  the  reclamation  of  dry-farm  districts.  More- 
over, the  same  crop  grown  under  different  conditions 
varies  in  its  rate  of  transpiration.  For  instance, 
plants  grown  for  some  time  under  arid  conditions 
greatly  modify  their  rate  of  transpiration,  as  shown 
by  Spalding,  who  reports  that  a  plant  reared  under 
humid  conditions  gave  off  3.7  times  as  much  water 
as  the  same  plant  reared  under  arid  conditions. 
This  very  interesting  observation  tends  to  confirm 
the  view  commonly  held  that  plants  grown  under 
arid  conditions  will  gradually  adapt  themselves  to 
the  prevailing  conditions,  and  in  spite  of  the  greater 
water  dissipating  conditions  will  live  with  the  ex- 
penditure of  less  water  than  would  be  the  case  under 
humid  conditions.  Further,  Sorauer  found,  many 
years  ago,  that  different  varieties  of  the  same  crop 
possess  very  different  rates  of  transpiration.     This 


TRANSPIRATION  179 

also  is  an  interesting  subject  that  should  be  more 
fully  investigated  in  the  future. 

Ninth,  the  vigor  of  growth  of  a  crop  appears  to 
have  a  strong  influence  on  transpiration.  It  does  not 
follow,  however,  that  the  more  vigorously  a  crop 
grows,  the  more  rapidly  does  it  transpire  water,  for 
it  is  well  known  that  the  most  luxuriant  plant  growth 
occurs  in  the  tropics,  where  the  transpiration  is  exceed- 
ingly low.  It  seems  to  be  true  that  under  the  same 
conditions,  plants  that  grow  most  vigorously  tend  to 
use  proportionately  the  smallest  amount  of  water. 

Tenth,  the  root  system  —  its  depth  and  manner  of 
growth  —  influences  the  rate  of  transpiration.  The 
more  vigorous  and  extensive  the  root  system,  the 
more  rapidly  can  water  be  secured  from  the  soil  by 
the  plant. 

The  conditions  above  enumerated  as  influencing 
transpiration  are  nearly  all  of  a  physical  character,  and 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  they  may  all  be  annulled 
or  changed  by  a  physiological  regulation.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  the  subject  of  transpiration  is  yet 
poorly  understood,  though  it  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant subjects  in  its  applications  to  plant  produc- 
tion in  localities  where  water  is  scarce.  It  should 
also  be  noted  that  nearly  all  of  the  above  conditions 
influencing  transpiration  are  beyond  the  control  of  the 
farmer.  The  one  that  seems  most  readily  controlled 
in  ordinary  agricultural  practice  will  be  discussed  in 
the  following  section. 


180  DRY-FARMING 


Plant-food  and  transpiration 

It  has  been  observed  repeatedly  by  students  of 
transpiration  that  the  amount  of  water  which  actually 
evaporates  from  the  leaves  is  varied  materially  by 
the  substances  held  in  solution  by  the  soil-water. 
That  is,  transpiration  depends  upon  the  nature  and 
concentration  of.  soil  solution.  This  fact,  though  not 
commonly  applied  even  at  the  present  time,  has 
really  been  known  for  a  very  long  time.  Woodward, 
in  1699,  observed  that  the  amount  of  water  tran- 
spired by  a  plant  growing  in  rain  water  was  192.3 
grams;  in  spring  water,  163.6  grams,  and  in  water 
from  the  River  Thames,  159.5  grams;  that  is,  the 
amount  of  water  transpired  by  the  plant  in  the  com- 
paratively pure  rain  water  was  nearly  20  per  cent 
higher  than  that  used  by  the  plant  growing  in  the 
notoriously  impure  water  of  the  River  Thames. 
Sachs,  in  1859,  carried  on  an  elaborate  series  of  ex- 
periments on  transpiration  in  which  he  showed  that 
the  addition  of  potassium  nitrate,  ammonium  sul- 
phate or  common  salt  to  the  solution  in  which  plants 
grew  reduced  the  transpiration;  in  fact,  the  reduc- 
tion was  large,  varying  from  10  to  75  per  cent.  This 
was  confirmed  by  a  number  of  later  workers,  among 
them,  for  instance,  Buergerstein,  who,  in  1875, 
showed  that  whenever  acids  were  added  to  a  soil  or  to 
water  in  which  plants  are  growing,  the  transpiration 


TRANSPIRATION   AND    SOIL   SOLUTION 


181 


is  increased  greatly;  but  when  alkalies  of  any  kind 
are  added,  transpiration  decreases.  This  is  of  special 
interest  in  the  development  of  dry-farming,  since 
dry-farm  soils,  as  a  rule,  contain  more  substances 


Fig.  43.     Ideal  tilth  of  soil. 


that  may  be  classed  as  alkalies  than  do  soils  main- 
tained under  humid  conditions.  Sour  soils  are 
very  characteristic  of  districts  where  the  rainfall  is 
abundant ;  the  vegetation  growing  on  such  soils  tran- 


182  DRY-FARMING 

spires  excessively  and  the  crops  are  consequently 
more  subject  to  drouth. 

The  investigators  of  almost  a  generation  ago  also 
determined  beyond  question  that  whenever  a  com- 
plete nutrient  solution  is  presented  to  plants,  that  is, 
a  solution  containing  all  the  necessary  plant-foods 
in  the  proper  proportions,  the  transpiration  is  reduced 
immensely.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  plant-foods 
should  be  presented  in  a  water  solution  in  order  to 
effect  this  reduction  in  transpiration;  if  they  are 
added  to  the  soil  on  which  plants  are  growing,  the 
same  effect  will  result.  The  addition  of  commercial 
fertilizers  to  the  soil  will  therefore  diminish  tran- 
spiration. It  was  further  discovered  nearly  half  a 
century  ago  that  similar  plants  growing  on  different 
soils  evaporate  different  amounts  of  water  from  their 
leaves:  this  difference,  undoubtedly,  is  due  to  the 
conditions  in  the  fertility  of  the  soils,  for  the  more 
fertile  a  soil  is.  the  richer  will  the  soil-water  be  in  the 
necessary  plant-foods.  The  principle  that  transpira- 
tion or  the  evaporation  of  water  from  the  plants 
depends  on  the  nature  and  concentration  of  the  soil 
solution  is  of  far-reaching  importance  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  rational  practice  of  dry-farming. 

Transpiration  for  a  pound  of  dry  matter 

Is  plant  growth  proportional  to  transpiration? 
Do  plants  that  evaporate  much  water  grow  more 


AMOUNT   OF   TRANSPIRATION  183 

rapidly  than  those  that  evaporate  less  ?  These  ques- 
tions arose  very  early  in  the  period  characterized  by 
an  active  study  of  transpiration.  If  varying  the 
transpiration  varies  the  growth,  there  would  be  no 
special  advantage  in  reducing  the  transpiration. 
From  an  economic  point  of  view  the  important  ques- 
tion is  this :  Does  the  plant  when  its  rate  of  transpira- 
tion is  reduced  still  grow  with  the  same  vigor?  If 
that  be  the  case,  then  every  effort  should  be  made  by 
the  farmer  to  control  and  to  diminish  the  rate  of 
transpiration. 

One  of  the  very  earliest  experiments  on  transpira- 
tion, conducted  by  Woodward  in  1699,  showed  that 
it  required  less  water  to  produce  a  pound  of  dry 
matter  if  the  soil  solution  were  of  the  proper  concen- 
tration and  contained  the  elements  necessary  for 
plant  growth.  Little  more  was  done  to  answer  the 
above  questions  for  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
Perhaps  the  question  was  not  even  asked  during  this 
period,  for  scientific  agriculture  was  just  coming  into 
being  in  countries  where  the  rainfall  was  abundant. 
However,  Tschaplowitz,  in  1878,  investigated  the 
subject  and  found  that  the  increase  in  dry  matter  is 
greatest  when  the  transpiration  is  the  smallest. 
Sorauer,  in  researches  conducted  from  1880  to  1882, 
determined  with  almost  absolute  certainty  that  less 
water  is  required  to  produce  a  pound  of  dry  matter 
when  the  soil  is  fertilized  than  when  it  is  not  ferti- 
lized.    Moreover,  he  observed  that  the  enriching  of 


184 


DRY-FARMING 


the  soil  solution  by  the  addition  of  artificial  fertilizers 
enabled  the  plant  to  produce  dry  matter  with  less 
water.  He  further  found  that  if  a  soil  is  properly 
tilled  so  as  to  set  free  plant-food  and  in  that  way  to 
enrich  the  soil  solution  the  water-cost  of  dry  plant 
substance   is   decreased.     Hellriegel,   in    1883,   con- 


Fig.  44. 


Interior  of  olive  orchard,  Sfax,  Tunis.     Note  the  great  distances 
between  the  trees  and  the  perfectly  clean  soil  culture. 


firmed  this  law  and  laid  down  the  law  that  poor 
plant  nutrition  increases  the  water-cost  of  every 
pound  of  dry  matter  produced.  It  was  about  this 
time  that  the  Rothamsted  Experiment  Station  re- 
ported that  its  experiments  had  shown  that  during 
periods  of  drouth  the  well-tilled  and  well-fertilized 
fields  yielded  good  crops,  while  the  unfertilized  fields 


FERTILITY   AND    TRANSPIRATION  185 

yielded  poor  crops  or  crop  failures  —  indicating 
thereby,  since  rainfall  was  the  critical  factor,  that 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  important  in  determining 
whether  or  not  with  a  small  amount  of  water  a  good 
crop  can  be  produced.  Pagnoul,  working  in  1895 
with  fescue  grass,  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion. 
On  a  poor  clay  soil  it  required  1109  pounds  of  water 
to  produce  one  pound  of  dry  matter,  while  on  a  rich 
calcareous  soil  only  574  pounds  were  required.  Gard- 
ner of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Bureau  of  Soils,  working  in  1908,  on  the  manuring  of 
soils,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  more  fertile  the 
soil  the  less  water  is  required  to  produce  a  pound  of 
dry  matter.  He  incidentally  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  in  countries  of  limited  rainfall  this  might  be 
a  very  important  principle  to  apply  in  crop  produc- 
tion. Hopkins  in  his  study  of  the  soils  of  Illinois 
has  repeatedly  observed,  in  connection  with  certain 
soils,  that  where  the  land  is  kept  fertile,  injury  from 
drouth  is  not  common,  implying  thereby  that  fertile 
soils  will  produce  dry  matter  at  a  lower  water-cost. 
The  most  recent  experiments  on  this  subject,  con- 
ducted by  the  Utah  Station,  confirm  these  conclu- 
sions. The  experiments,  which  covered  several  years, 
were  conducted  in  pots  filled  with  different  soils. 
On  a  soil,  naturally  fertile,  908  pounds  of  water  were 
transpired  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter  (corn)  pro- 
duced ;  by  adding  to  this  soil  an  ordinary  dressing  of 
manure,  this  was  reduced  to  613  pounds,  and  by  add- 


186  DRY-FARMING 

ing  a  small  amount  of  sodium  nitrate  it  was  reduced 
to  585  pounds.  If  so  large  a  reduction  could  be 
secured  in  practice,  it  would  seem  to  justify  the  use  of 
commercial  fertilizers  in  years  when  the  dry-farm 
year  opens  with  little  water  stored  in  the  soil. 
Similar  results,  as  will  be  shown  below,  were  obtained 
by  the  use  of  various  cultural  methods.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  stated  as  a  law,  that  any  cultural  treat- 
ment which  enables  the  soil-water  to  acquire  larger 
quantities  of  plant-food  also  enables  the  plant  to 
produce  dry  matter  with  the  use  of  a  smaller  amount 
of  water.  In  dry-farming,  where  the  limiting  factor 
is  water,  this  principle  must  be  emphasized  in  every 
cultural  operation. 

Methods  of  controlling  transpiration 

It  would  appear  that  at  present  the  only  means 
possessed  by  the  farmer  for  controlling  transpiration 
and  making  possible  maximum  crops  with  the  mini- 
mum amount  of  water  in  a  properly  tilled  soil  is  to 
keep  the  soil  as  fertile  as  is  possible.  In  the  light 
of  this  principle  the  practices  already  recommended 
for  the  storing  of  water  and  for  the  prevention  of  the 
direct  evaporation  of  water  from  the  soil  are  again 
emphasized.  Deep  and  frequent  plowing,  preferably 
in  the  fall  so  that  the  weathering  of  the  winter  may  be 
felt  deeply  and  strongly,  is  of  first  importance  in 
liberating  plant-food.     Cultivation  which  has  been 


REGULATING   THE    TRANSPIRATION  187 

recommended  for  the  prevention  of  the  direct  evap- 
oration of  water  is  of  itself  an  effective  factor  in  set- 
ting free  plant-food  and  thus  in  reducing  the  amount 
of  water  required  by  plants.  The  experiments  at  the 
Utah  Station,  already  referred  to,  bring  out  very 
strikingly  the  value  of  cultivation  in  reducing  the 
transpiration.  For  instance,  in  a  series  of  experi- 
ments the  following  results  were  obtained.  On  a 
sandy  loam,  not  cultivated,  603  pounds  of  water  were 
transpired  to  produce  one  pound  of  dry  matter  of 
corn;  on  the  same  soil,  cultivated,  only  252  pounds 
were  required.  On  a  clay  loam,  not  cultivated,  535 
pounds  of  water  were  transpired  for  each  pound  of 
dry  matter,  whereas  on  the  cultivated  soil  only  428 
pounds  were  necessary.  On  a  clay  soil,  not  cultivated, 
753  pounds  of  water  were  transpired  for  each  pound  of 
dry  matter;  on  the  cultivated  soil,  only  582  pounds. 
The  farmer  who  faithfully  cultivates  the  soil  through- 
out the  summer  and  after  every  rain  has  therefore  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  is  accomplishing  two 
very  important  things:  he  is  keeping  the  moisture 
in  the  soil,  and  he  is  making  it  possible  for  good  crops 
to  be  grown  with  much  less  water  than  would  other- 
wise be  required.  Even  in  the  case  of  a  peculiar  soil 
on  which  ordinary  cultivation  did  not  reduce  the 
direct  evaporation,  the  effect  upon  the  transpiration 
was  very  marked.  On  the  soil  which  was  not  culti- 
vated, 451  pounds  of  water  were  required  to  produce 
one  pound  of  dry  matter  (corn),  while  on  the  culti- 


188  DRY-FARMING 

vated  soils,  though  the  direct  evaporation  was  no 
smaller,  the  number  of  pounds  of  water  for  each 
pound  of  dry  substance  was  as  low  as  265. 

One  of  the  chief  values  of  fallowing  lies  in  the 
liberation  of  the  plant-food  during  the  fallow  year, 
which  reduces  the  quantity  of  water  required  the 
next  year  for  the  full  growth  of  crops.  The  Utah 
experiments  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made  show  the  effect  of  the  previous  soil  treatment 
upon  the  water  requirements  of  crops.  One  half  of 
the  three  types  of  soil  had  been  cropped  for  three 
successive  years,  while  the  other  half  had  been  left 
bare.  During  the  fourth  year  both  halves  were 
planted  to  corn.  For  the  sandy  loam  it  was  found 
that,  on  the  part  that  had  been  cropped  previously, 
659  pounds  of  water  were  required  for  each  pound  of 
dry  matter  produced,  while  on  the  part  that  had  been 
bare  only  573  pounds  were  required.  For  the  clay 
loam  889  pounds  on  the  cropped  part  and  550  on 
the  previously  bare  part  were  required  for  each  pound 
of  dry  matter.  For  the  clay  7466  pounds  on  the 
cropped  part  and  1739  pounds  on  the  previously  bare 
part  were  required  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter. 
These  results  teach  clearly  and  emphatically  that 
the  fertile  condition  of  the  soil  induced  by  fallowing 
makes  it  possible  to  produce  dry  matter  with  a  smaller 
amount  of  water  than  can  be  done  on  soils  that  are 
cropped  continuously.  The  beneficial  effects  of  fal- 
lowing are  therefore  clearly  twofold:    to  store  the 


190 


DRY-FARMING 


moisture  of  two  seasons  for  the  use  of  one  crop ;  and 
to  set  free  fertility  to  enable  the  plant  to  grow  with 
the  least  amount  of  water.  It  is  not  yet  fully  under- 
stood what  changes  occur  in  fallowing  to  give  the  soil 
the  fertility  which  reduces  the  water  needs  of  the 


1 

% 

** 

9 

.  - 
• 

- 

*S 

Fig.  46.     Dry-farm  potatoes.  Rosebud  Co.,  Montana,  1909.     Yield.  282 
bushels  per  acre. 

plant.  The  researches  of  Atkinson  in  Montana, 
Stewart  and  Graves  in  Utah,  and  Jensen  in  South 
Dakota  make  it  seem  probable  that  the  formation  of 
nitrates  plays  an  important  part  in  the  whole  process. 
If  a  soil  is  of  such  a  nature  that  neither  careful 
deep  plowing  at  the  right  time  nor  constant   crust 


REGULATING   THE    TRANSPIRATION  191 

cultivation  are  sufficient  to  set  free  an  abundance  of 
plant-food,  it  may  be  necessary  to  apply  manures  or 
commercial  fertilizers  to  the  soil.  While  the  question 
of  restoring  soil  fertility  has  not  yet  come  to  be  a  lead- 
ing one  in  dry-farming,  yet  in  view  of  what  has  been 
said  in  this  chapter  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  time 
will  come  when  the  farmers  must  give  primary  atten- 
tion to  soil  fertility  in  addition  to  the  storing  and 
conservation  of  soil-moisture.  The  fertilizing  of  lands 
with  proper  plant-foods,  as  shown  in  the  last  sections, 
tends  to  check  transpiration  and  makes  possible  the 
production  of  dry  matter  at  the  lowest  water-cost. 

The  recent  practice  in  practically  all  dry-farm 
districts,  at  least  in  the  intermountain  and  far  West, 
to  use  the  header  for  harvesting  bears  directly  upon 
the  subject  considered  in  this  chapter.  The  high 
stubble  which  remains  contains  much  valuable  plant- 
food,  often  gathered  many  feet  below  the  surface  by 
the  plant  roots.  When  this  stubble  is  plowed  under 
there  is  a  valuable  addition  of  the  plant-food  to  the 
upper  soil.  Further,  as  the  stubble  decays,  acid 
substances  are  produced  that  act  upon  the  soil  grains 
to  set  free  the  plant-food  locked  up  in  them.  The 
plowing  under  of  stubble  is  therefore  of  great  value 
to  the  dry-farmer.  The  plowing  under  of  any  other 
organic  substance  has  the  same  effect.  In  both  cases 
fertility  is  concentrated  near  the  surface,  which  dis- 
solves in  the  soil-water  and  enables  the  crop  to  ma- 
ture with  the  least  quantity  of  water. 


192  DRY-FARMING 

The  lesson  then  to  be  learned  from  this  chapter 
is,  that  it  is  not  sufficient  for  the  dry-farmer  to  store 
an  abundance  of  water  in  the  soil  and  to  prevent  that 
water  fr<  >m  evaporating  directly  from  the  soil ;  but  the 
soil  must  be  kept  in  such  a  state  of  high  fertility  that 
plants  are  enabled  to  utilize  the  stored  moisture  in 
the  most  economical  manner.  Water  storage,  the 
prevention  of  evaporation,  and  the  maintenance  of 
soil  fertility  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  development  of 
a  successful  system  of  farming  without  irrigation. 


CHAPTER  X 

PLOWING   AND   FALLOWING 

The  soil  treatment  prescribed  in  the  preceding 
chapters  rests  upon  (1)  deep  and  thorough  plowing, 
done  preferably  in  the  fall ;  (2)  thorough  cultivation 
to  form  a  mulch  over  the  surface  of  the  land,  and  (3) 
clean  summer  fallowing  every  other  year  under  low 
rainfall  or  every  third  or  fourth  year  under  abundant 
rainfall. 

Students  of  dry-farming  all  agree  that  thorough 
cultivation  of  the  topsoil  prevents  the  evaporation  of 
soil-moisture,  but  some  have  questioned  the  value  of 
deep  and  fall  plowing  and  the  occasional  clean  sum- 
mer fallow.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  state 
the  findings  of  practical  men  with  reference  to  the 
value  of  plowing  and  fallowing  in  producing  large 
crop  yields  under  dry-farm  conditions. 

It  will  be  shown  in  Chapter  XVIII  that  the  first 
attempts  to  produce  crops  without  irrigation  under  a 
limited  rainfall  were  made  independently  in  many 
diverse  places.  California,  Utah,  and  the  Columbia 
Basin,  as  far  as  can  now  be  learned,  as  well  as  the 
Great  Plains  area,  were  all  independent  pioneers  in 
the  art  of  dry-farming.  It  is  a  most  significant  fact 
that  these  diverse  localities,  operating  under  differ- 
o  193 


194  DRY-FARMING 

ent  conditions  as  to  soil  and  climate,  have  developed 
practically  the  same  system  of  dry-farming.  In  all 
these  places  the  best  dry-farmers  practice  deep  plow- 
ing wherever  the  subsoil  will  permit  it ;  fall  plowing 
wherever  the  climate  will  permit  it:  the  sowing  of 
fall  grain  wherever  the  winters  will  permit  it,  and  the 
clean  summer  fallow  every  other  year,  or  every  third 
or  fourth  year.  H.  W.  Campbell,  who  has  been  the 
leading  exponent  of  dry-farming  in  the  Great  Plains 
area,  began  his  work  without  the  clean  summer  fal- 
low as  a  part  of  his  system,  but  has  long  since  adopted 
it  for  that  section  of  the  country.  It  is  scarcely  to  be 
believed  that  these  practices,  developed  laboriously 
through  a  long  succession  of  years  in  widely  separated 
localities,  do  not  rest  upon  correct  scientific  prin- 
ciples. In  any  case,  the  accumulated  experience  of 
the  dry-farmers  in  this  country  confirms  the  doctrines 
of  soil  tillage  for  dry-farms  laid  down  in  the  preceding 
chapters. 

At  the  Dry-Farming  Congresses  large  numbers  of 
practical  farmers  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
changing experiences  and  views.  The  reports  of  the 
Congress  show  a  great  difference  of  opinion  on  minor 
matters  and  a  wonderful  unanimity  of  opinion  on  the 
more  fundamental  questions.  For  instance,  deep 
plowing  was  recommended  by  all  who  touched  upon 
the  subject  in  their  remarks :  though  one  farmer,  who 
lived  in  a  locality  the  subsoil  of  which  was  very  inert, 
recommended  that  the  depth  of  plowing  should  be 


PLOWING   AND    FALLOWING  195 

increased  gradually  until  the  full  depth  is  reached,  to 
avoid  a  succession  of  poor  crop  years  while  the  lifeless 
soil  was  being  vivified.  The  states  of  Utah,  Mon- 
tana, Wyoming,  South  Dakota,  Colorado,  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  and  the  provinces  of  Alberta  and  Sas- 
katchewan of  Canada  all  specifically  declared  through 
one  to  eight  representatives  from  each  state  in  favor  of 
deep  plowing  as  a  fundamental  practice  in  dry-farm- 
ing. Fall  plowing,  wherever  the  climatic  conditions 
make  it  possible,  was  similarly  advocated  by  all  the 
speakers.  Farmers  in  certain  localities  had  found  the 
soil  so  dry  in  the  fall  that  plowing  was  difficult,  but 
Campbell  insisted  that  even  in  such  places  it  would 
be  profitable  to  use  power  enough  to  break  up  the 
land  before  the  winter  season  set  in.  Numerous 
speakers  from  the  states  of  Utah,  Wyoming,  Montana, 
Nebraska,  and  a  number  of  the  Great  Plains  states,  as 
well  as  from  the  Chinese  Empire,  declared  themselves 
as  favoring  fall  plowing.  Scarcely  a  dissenting  voice 
was  raised. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  clean  summer  fallow  as 
a  vital  principle  of  dry-farming  a  slight  difference  of 
opinion  was  discovered.  Farmers  from  some  of  the 
localities  insisted  that  the  clean  summer  fallow  every 
other  year  was  indispensable;  others  that  one  in 
three  years  was  sufficient;  and  others  one  in  four 
years,  and  a  few  doubted  the  wisdom  of  it  altogether. 
However,  all  the  speakers  agreed  that  clean  and 
thorough  cultivation  should  be  practiced  faithfully 


196 


DRY-FARMING 


during  the  spring,  summer,  and  fall  of  the  fallow  year. 
The  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  weeds  consume 
precious  moisture  and  fertility  seemed  to  be  general 


Fig   47     Clean  summer  fallow.     Utah.     Note  the  strip of  dirty  fallow 
(at  left).    Only  dean  summer  fallow  should  be  practiced  in  dry-fanning. 

among  the  dry-farmers  from  all  sections  of  the  coun- 
try    (Sec  Fig.  47.)    The  following  states,  provinces, 

and  countries  declared  themselves  as  being  definitely 
-and  emphatically  in  favof  of  clean  summer  tallowing: 
California,   Utah,    Nevada,    Washington,   Montana, 


SUMMER   FALLOWING  197 

Idaho,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  North  Dakota,  Ne- 
braska, Alberta,  Saskatchewan,  Russia,  Turkey,  the 
Transvaal,  Brazil,  and  Australia.  Each  of  these  many 
districts  was  represented  by  one  to  ten  or  more 
representatives.  The  only  state  to  declare  somewhat 
vigorously  against  it  was  from  the  Great  Plains  area, 
and  a  warning  voice  was  heard  from  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture.  The  recorded  practical 
experience  of  the  farmers  over  the  whole  of  the  dry- 
farm  territory  of  the  United  States  leads  to  the  con- 
viction that  fallowing  must  be  accepted  as  a  practice 
which  resulted  in  successful  dry-farming.  Further, 
the  experimental  leaders  in  the  dry-farm  movement, 
whether  working  under  private,  state,  or  governmental 
direction,  are,  with  very  few  exceptions,  strongly  in 
favor  of  deep  fall  plowing  and  clean  summer  fallow- 
ing as  parts  of  the  dry-farm  system. 

The  chief  reluctance  to  accept  clean  summer  fal- 
lowing as  a  principle  of  dry-farming  appears  chiefly 
among  students  of  the  Great  Plains  area.  Even  there 
it  is  admitted  by  all  that  a  wheat  crop  following  a 
fallow  year  is  larger  and  better  than  one  following 
wheat.  There  seem,  however,  to  be  two  serious  rea- 
sons for  objecting  to  it.  First,  a  fear  that  a  clean 
summer  fallow,  practiced  every  second,  third,  or 
fourth  year,  will  cause  a  large  diminution  of  the  or- 
ganic matter  in  the  soil,  resulting  finally  in  complete 
crop  failure ;  and  second,  a  belief  that  a  hoed  crop, 
like  corn  or  potatoes,  exerts  the  same  beneficial  effect. 


198  DRY-FARMING 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  thorough  tillage 
involved  in  dry-farming  exposes  to  the  action  of  the 
elements  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil  and  thereby 
favors  rapid  oxidation.  For  that  reason  the  different 
ways  in  which  organic  matter  may  be  supplied  regu- 
larly to  dry-farms  are  pointed  out  in  Chapter  XIV. 
It  may  also  be  observed  that  the  header  harvesting 
system  employed  over  a  large  part  of  the  dry-farm 
territory  leaves  the  large  header  stubble  to  be  plowed 
under,  and  it  is  probable  that  under  such  methods 
more  organic  matter  is  added  to  the  soil  during  the 
year  of  cropping  than  is  lost  during  the  year  of  fallow- 
ing. It  ma}',  moreover,  be  observed  that  thorough 
tillage  of  a  crop  like  corn  or  potatoes  tends  to  cause  a 
loss  of  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil  to  a  degree  nearly 
as  large  as  is  the  case  when  a  fallow  field  is  well  cul- 
tivated. The  thorough  stirring  of  the  soil  under  an 
arid  or  semiarid  climate,  which  is  an  essential  feature 
of  dry-farming,  will  always  result  in  a  decrease  in 
organic  matter.  It  matters  little  whether  the  soil  is 
fallow  or  in  crop  during  the  process  of  cultivation,  so 
far  as  the  result  is  concerned. 

A  serious  matter  connected  with  fallowing  in  the 
Great  Plains  area  is  the  blowing  of  the  loose  well- 
tilled  soil  of  the  fallow7  fields,  which  results  from  the 
heavy  winds  that  blow  so  steadily  over  a  large  part  of 
the  western  slope  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  This  is 
largely  avoided  when  crops  are  grown  on  the  land, 
even  when  it  is  well  tilled. 


200  DRY-FARMING 

The  theory,  recently  proposed,  that  in  the  Great 
Plains  area,  where  the  rains  come  chiefly  in  summer, 
the  growing  of  hoed  crops  may  take  the  place  of  the 
summer  fallow,  is  said  to  be  based  on  experimental 
data  not  yet  published.  Careful  and  conscientious 
experimenters,  as  Chilcott  and  his  co-laborers,  indi- 
cate in  their  statements  that  in  many  cases  the  yields 
of  wheat,  after  a  hoed  crop,  have  been  larger  than 
after  a  fallow  year.  The  doctrine  has,  therefore,  been 
rather  widely  disseminated  that  fallowing  has  no  place 
in  the  dry-farming  of  the  Great  Plains  area  and 
should  be  replaced  by  the  growing  of  hoed  crops. 
Chilcott,  who  is  the  chief  exponent  of  this  doctrine, 
declares,  however,  that  it  is  only  with  spring-grown 
crops  and  for  a  succession  of  normal  years  that  fallow- 
ing may  be  omitted,  and  that  fallowing  must  be  re- 
sorted to  as  a  safeguard  or  temporary  expedient  to 
guard  against  total  loss  of  crop  where  extreme  drouth 
is  anticipated;  that  is,  where  the  rainfall  falls  below 
the  average.  He  further  explains  that  continuous 
grain  cropping,  even  with  careful  plowing  and  spring 
and  fall  tillage,  is  unsuccessful ;  but  holds  that  certain 
rotations  of  crops,  including  grain  and  a  hoed  crop 
every  other  year,  are  often  more  profitable  than  grain 
alternating  with  clean  summer  fallow.  He  further 
believes  that  the  fallow  year  every  third  or  fourth 
year  is  sufficient  for  Great  Plains  conditions.  Jar- 
dine  explains  that  whenever  fall  grain  is  grown  in  the 
Great  Plains  area,  the  fallow  is  remarkably  helpful, 


202 


DRY-FARMIXG 


and  in  fact  because  of  the  dry  winters  is  practically 
indispensable. 

This  latter  view  is  confirmed  by  the  experimental 
results  obtained  by  Atkinson  and  others  at  the  Mon- 
tana Experiment  Stations,  which  are  conducted  under 
approximately  Great  Plains  conditions.  The  average 
results  follow  (See  Figs.  48  and  49) :  — 


KUBAXKA 

Spring  Wheat 

White  Hull- 
less  Barley 

Sixty-day 
Oats 

SUBSTATION 

Grown 
Con- 
tinu- 
ously 

After 
Fallow 

Grown 

Con-       After 
tinu-      Fallow 
ously 

Grown 
Con- 
tinu- 
ously 

After 
Fallow 

Dawson  County        .... 
Rosebud  County       .... 
Yellowstone  County      .     .     . 
Chouteau  County     .... 

Bushel 

15.18 
16.98 

7.73 
14.18 

Bushel 

17.57 
_     - 
19.32 

17.35 

Bushel 

15.97 

15.02 
14.90 
13.29 

Bushel 

20.90 
28.31 

2(1.33 
11.95 

Bushel 

31.17 
30.21 
13.75 
28.90 

Bushel 

51.00 
40.03 
47.94 
34.56 

Average 

13.52 

18.76 

14.79 

20.37 

26.01 

43.38 

It  should  be  mentioned  also  that  in  Saskatchewan, 
in  the  north  end  of  the  Great  Plains  area,  and  which 
is  characteristic,  except  for  a  lower  annual  tempera- 
ture, of  the  whole  area,  and  where  dry-farming  has 
been  practiced  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  the  clean 
summer  fallow  lias  come  to  be  an  established  practice. 

This  recent  discussion  of  the  place  of  fallowing 
in  the  agriculture  of  the  Great  Plains  area  illustrates 
what  has  been  said  so  often  in  this  volume  about  the 
adapting  of  principles  to  local  conditions.  Wherever 
toe  summer  rainfall  is  sufficient  to  mature  a  crop, 


THE    FALLOW    YEAR  203 

fallowing  for  the  purpose  of  storing  moisture  in  the 
soil  is  unnecessary;  the  only  value  of  the  fallow 
year  under  such  conditions  would  be  to  set  free  fer- 
tility. In  the  Great  Plains  area  the  rainfall  is  some- 
what higher  than  elsewhere  in  the  dry-farm  territory 
and  most  of  it  comes  in  summer;  and  the  summer 
precipitation  is  probably  enough  in  average  years  to 
mature  crops,  providing  soil  conditions  are  favorable. 
The  main  considerations,  then,  are  to  keep  the  soils 
open  for  the  reception  of  water  and  to  maintain  the 
soils  in  a  sufficiently  fertile  condition  to  produce,  as 
explained  in  Chapter  IX,  plants  with  a  minimum 
amount  of  water.  This  is  accomplished  very  largely 
by  the  year  of  hoed  crop,  when  the  soil  is  as  well 
stirred  as  under  a  clean  fallow. 

The  dry-farmer  must  never  forget  that  the  critical 
element  in  dry-farming  is  water  and  that  the  annual 
rainfall  will  in  the  very  nature  of  things  vary  from 
year  to  year,  with  the  result  that  the  dry  year,  or  the 
year  with  a  precipitation  below  the  average,  is  sure  to 
come.  In  somewhat  wet  years  the  moisture  stored 
in  the  soil  is  of  comparatively  little  consequence,  but 
in  a  year  of  drouth  it  will  be  the  main  dependence  of 
the  farmer.  Now,  whether  a  crop  be  hoed  or  not,  it 
requires  water  for  its  growth,  and  land  which  is  con- 
tinuously cropped  even  with  a  variety  of  crops  is 
likely  to  be  so  largely  depleted  of  its  moisture  that, 
when  the  year  of  drouth  comes,  failure  will  probably 
result. 


204  DRY-FARMING 

The  precariousness  of  dry-farming  must  be  clone 
away  with.  The  year  of  drouth  must  be  expected 
every  year.  Only  as  certainty  of  crop  yield  is  as- 
sured will  dry-farming  rise  to  a  respected  place  by  the 
side  of  other  branches  of  agriculture.  To  attain  such 
certainty  and  respect  clean  summer  fallowing  every 
second,  third,  or  fourth  year,  according  to  the  average 
rainfall,  is  probably  indispensable;  and  future  in- 
vestigations, long  enough  continued,  will  doubtless 
confirm  this  prediction.  Undoubtedly,  a  rotation  of 
crops,  including  hoed  crops,  will  find  an  important 
place  in  dry-farming,  but  probably  not  to  the  com- 
plete exclusion  of  the  clean  summer  fallow. 

Jethro  Tull,  two  hundred  years  ago,  discovered 
that  thorough  tillage  of  the  soil  gave  crops  that  in 
some  cases  could  not  be  produced  by  the  addition  of 
manure,  and  he  came  to  the  erroneous  conclusion  that 
"tillage  is  manure."  In  recent  days  we  have  learned 
the  value  of  tillage  in  conserving  moisture  and  in 
enabling  plants  to  reach  maturity  with  "the  least 
amount  of  water,  and  we  may  be  tempted  to  believe 
that  " tillage  is  moisture."  This,  like  Tull's  state- 
ment, is  a  fallacy  and  must  be  avoided.  Tillage  can 
take  the  place  of  moisture  only  to  a  limited  degree. 
Water  is  the  essential  consideration  in  dry-farming, 
else  there  would  be  no  drv-farmins. 


CHAPTER  XI 


SOWING   AND    HARVESTING 


The  careful  application  of  the  principles  of  soil 
treatment  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapters  will 
leave  the  soil  in  good  condition  for  sowing,  either  in 
the  fall  or  spring.  Nevertheless,  though  proper  dry- 
farming  insures  a  first-class  seed- bed,  the  problem  of 
sowing  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  in  the  successful 
production  of  crops  without  irrigation.  This  is 
chiefly  due  to  the  difficulty  of  choosing,  under  some- 
what rainless  conditions,  a  time  for  sowing  that  will 
insure  rapid  and  complete  germination  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  root  system  capable  of  producing 
good  plants.  In  some  respects  fewer  definite,  reliable 
principles  can  be  laid  down  concerning  sowing  than 
any  other  principle  of  important  application  in  the 
practice  of  dry-farming.  The  experience  of  the  last 
fifteen  years  has  taught  that  the  occasional  failures 
to  which  even  good  dry-farmers  have  been  subjected 
have  been  caused  almost  wholly  by  uncontrollable 
unfavorable  conditions  prevailing  at  the  time  of 
sowing. 

Conditions  of  germination 

Three  conditions  determine  germination:  (1)  heat, 
(2)  oxygen,  and  (3)  water.     Unless  these  three  con- 

205 


206 


DRY-FARMING 


ditions  are  all  favorable,  seeds  cannot  germinate 
properly.  The  first  requisite  for  successful  seed 
germination  is  a  proper  degree  of  heat.  For  every 
kind  of  seed  there  is  a  temperature  below  which 
germination  does  not  occur ;  another,  above  which  it 
does  not  occur,  and  another,  the  best,  at  which,  pro- 
viding the  other  factors  are  favorable,  germination 
will  go  on  most  rapidly.  The  following  table,  con- 
structed by  Goodale,  shows  the  latest,  highest,  and 
best  germination  temperatures  for  wheat,  barley,  and 
corn.  Other  seeds  germinate  approximately  within 
the  same  ranges  of  temperature:  — 


Germination  Temper 

atures  (Degrees  Fahrenheit). 

Lowest 

Highest 

Best 

Wheat 

Barley 

Corn        

41 
41 
49 

108 
100 
115 

84 
84 
91 

Germination  occurs  within  the  considerable  range 
between  the  highest  and  lowest  temperatures  of  this 
table,  though  the  rapidity  of  germination  decreases 
as  the  temperature  recedes  from  the  best.  This  ex- 
plains the  early  spring  and  late  fall  germination  when 
the  temperature  is  comparatively  low.  If  the  tem- 
perature falls  below  the  lowest  required  for  germina- 
tion, dry  seeds  are  not  injured,  and  even  a  tempera- 
ture far  below  the  freezing  point  of  water  will  not 


CONDITIONS   OF   GERMINATION  207 

affect  seeds  unfavorably  if  they  are  not  too  moist. 
The  warmth  of  the  soil,  essential  to  germination,  can- 
not well  be  controlled  by  the  farmer;  and  planting 
must,  therefore,  be  done  in  seasons  when,  from  past 
experience,  it  is  probable  that  the  temperature  is  and 
will  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  best  degree 
for  germination.  More  heat  is  required  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  wet  soils ;  therefore,  seeds  will  gener- 
ally germinate  more  slowly  in  wet  than  in  dry  soils,  as 
is  illustrated  in  the  rapid  germination  often  observed 
in  well-tilled  dry-farm  soils.  Consequently,  it  is 
safer  at  a  low  temperature  to  sow  in  dry  soils  than 
in  wet  ones.  Dark  soils  absorb  heat  more  rapidly 
than  lighter  colored  ones,  and  under  the  same  condi- 
tions of  temperature  germination  is  therefore  more 
likely  to  go  on  rapidly  in  dark  colored  soils.  Over 
the  dry-farm  territory  the  soils  are  generally  light 
colored,  which  would  tend  to  delay  germination. 
The  incorporation  of  organic  matter  with  the  soil, 
which  tends  to  darken  the  soil,  has  a  slight  though 
important  bearing  on  germination  as  well  as  on  the 
general  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  should  be  made  an 
important  dry-farm  practice.  Meanwhile,  the  tem- 
perature of  the  soil  depends  almost  wholly  upon  the 
prevailing  temperature  conditions  in  the  district  and 
is  not  to  any  material  degree  under  the  control  of  the 
farmer. 

A  sufficient  supply  of  oxygen  in  the  soil  is  indis- 
pensable to  germination.     Oxygen,  as  is  well  known, 


208  DRY-FARMING 

forms  about  one  fifth  of  the  atmosphere  and  is  the 
active  principle  in  combustion  and  in  the  changes  in 
the  animal  body  occasioned  by  respiration.  Oxygen 
sh<  )iild  be  present  in  the  soil  air  in  approximately  the 
proportion  in  which  it  is  found  in  the  atmosphere. 
Germination  is  hindered  by  a  larger  or  smaller  pro- 
portion than  is  found  in  the  atmosphere.  The  soil 
must  be  in  such  a  condition  that  the  air  can  easily 
enter  or  leave  the  upper  soil  layer:  that  is,  the  soil 
must  be  somewhat  loose.  In  order  that  the  seeds 
may  have  access  to  the  necessary  oxygen,  then,  sow- 
ing, should  not  be  done  in  wet  or  packed  soils,  nor 
should  the  sowing  implements  be  such  as  to  press  the 
soil  too  closely  around  the  seeds.  Well-fallowed  soil 
is  in  an  ideal  condition  for  admitting  oxygen. 

If  the  temperature  is  right,  germination  begins  by 
the  forcible  absorption  of  water  by  the  seed  from  the 
surrounding  soil.  The  force  of  this  absorption  is 
very  great,  ranging  from  four  hundred  to  five  hun- 
dred pounds  per  square  inch,  and  continues  until  the 
seed  is  completely  saturated.  The  great  vigor  with 
which  water  is  thus  absorbed  from  the  soil  explains 
how  seeds  are  able  to  secure  the  necessary  water 
from  the  thin  water  film  surrounding  the  soil  grains. 
The  following  table,  based  upon  numerous  investiga- 
tions conducted  in  Germany  and  in  Utah,  shows  the 
maximum  percentages  of  water  contained  by  seeds 
when  tiie  absorption  is  complete.  These  quantities 
are  reached  only  when  water  is  easily  accessible :  — 


WATER   AND    GERMINATION 


209 


Percentage  of  Water  contained  by  Seeds  at 
Saturation 


German 

Utah 

Rye 

58 

— 

Wheat 

57 

52 

Oats 

58 

43 

Barley 

50 

44 

Corn        

44 

57 

Peas 

93 

— 

Beans      

95 

88 

Lucern 

78 

87 

Germination  itself  does  not  go  on  freely  until  this 
maximum  saturation  has  been  reached.  Therefore, 
if  the  moisture  in  the  soil  is  low,  the  absorption  of 
water  is  made  difficult  and  germination  is  retarded. 
This  shows  itself  in  a  decreased  percentage  of  ger- 
mination. The  effect  upon  germination  of  the  per- 
centage of  water  in  the  soil  is  well  shown  by  some  of 
the  Utah  experiments,  as  follows :  — 

Effect  of  Varying  Amounts  of  Water  on  Percentage  of 
Germination 


Per  Cent  Water  in  Soil    .     . 

7.5 

10 

12.5 

15 

17.5 

30 

22.5 

25 

Wheat  in  Sandy  Loam     .     . 

Wheat  in  Clay 

Beans  in  Sandy  Loam      .     . 

Beans  in  Clay 

Lucern  in  Sandy  Loam  .    . 
Lucern  in  Clay 

0.0 
30.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
8.0 

98 
48 
0 
0 
18 
8 

94.0 
84.0 
20.0 
6.0 
68.0 
54.0 

86 
94 
46 
20 
54 
48 

82.0 
84.0 
66.0 
22.0 
54.0 
50.0 

82 
82 
18 
32 
8 
32 

82.0 
86.0 

8.0 
30.0 

8.0 
14.9 

6 
58 

9 
36 

9 
14 

210  DRY-FARMING 

In  a  sandy  soil  a  small  percentage  of  water  will  cause 
better  germination  than  in  a  clay  soil.  While  dif- 
ferent seeds  vary  in  their  power  to  abstract  water 
from  soils,  yet  it  seems  that  for  the  majority  of  plants, 
the  best  percentage  of  soil-water  for  germination 
purposes  is  that  which  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
maximum  field  capacity  of  soils  for  water,  as  explained 
in  Chapter  VII.  Bogdanoff  has  estimated  that  the 
best  amount  of  water  in  the  soil  for  germination  pur- 
poses is  about  twice  the  maximum  percentage  of  hy- 
groscopic water.  This  would  not  be  far  from  the 
field-water  capacity  as  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

During  the  absorption  of  water,  seeds  swell  consid- 
erably, in  many  cases  from  two  to  three  times  their 
normal  size.  This  has  the  very  desirable  effect  of 
crowding  the  seed  walls  against  the  soil  particles  and 
thus,  by  establishing  more  points  of  contact,  en- 
abling the  seed  to  absorb  moisture  with  greater 
facility.  As  seeds  begin  to  absorb  water,  heat  is  also 
produced.  In  many  cases  the  temperature  sur- 
rounding the  seeds  is  increased  one  degree  on  the 
Centigrade  scale  by  the  mere  process  of  water  ab- 
sorption. This  favors  rapid  germination.  More- 
over, the  fertility  of  the  soil  has  a  direct  influence 
upon  germination.  In  fertile  soils  the  germination 
is  more  rapid  and  more  complete  than  in  infertile 
soils.  Especially  active  in  favoring  direct  germina- 
tion are  the  nitrates.     When  it  is  recalled  that  the 


212  DRY-FARMING 

constant  cultivation  and  well-kept  summer  fallow 
of  dry-farming  develop  large  quantities  of  nitrates  in 
the  soil,  it  will  be  understood  that  the  methods  of 
dry-farming  as  already  outlined  accelerate  germina- 
tion very  greatly. 

It  scarcely  need  be  said  that  the  soil  of  the  seed- 
bed should  be  fine,  mellow,  and  uniform  in  physical 
texture  so  that  the  seeds  can  be  planted  evenly 
and  in  close  contact  with  the  soil  particles.  All  the 
requisite  conditions  for  germination  are  best  met  by 
the  conditions  prevailing  in  a  well-kept  summer 
fallowed  soil. 

Time  to  sow 

In  the  consideration  of  the  time  to  sow.  the  first 
question  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  dry-farmer  is  that 
of  fall  as  against  spring  sowing.  The -small  grains 
occur  as  fall  and  spring  varieties,  and  it  is  vitally  im- 
portant to  determine  which  season,  under  dry-farm 
conditions,  is  the  best  for  sowing. 

The  advantages  of  fall  sowing  are  many.  As 
stated,  successful  germination  is  favored  by  the 
presence  of  an  abundance  of  fertility,  especially  of 
nitrates,  in  the  soil.  In  summer-fallowed  land 
nitrates  are  always  found  in  abundance  in  the  fall, 
ready  to  stimulate  the  seed  into  rapid  germination 
and  the  young  plants  into  vigorous  growth.  During 
the  late  fall  and  winter  months  the  nitrates  disap- 
pear, at  least  in  part,  and  from  the  point  of  view  of 


214  DRY-FARMING 

fertility  the  spring  is  not  so  desirable  as  the  fall  for 
germination.  More  important,  grain  sown  in  the 
fall  under  favorable  conditions  will  establish  a  good 
root  system  which  is  ready  for  use  and  in  action  in 
the  early  spring  as  soon  as  the  temperature  is  right 
and  long  before  the  farmer  can  go  out  on  the  ground 
with  his  implements.  As  a  result,  the  crop  has  the 
use  of  the  early  spring  moisture,  which  under  the 
conditions  of  spring  sowing  is  evaporated  into  the  air. 
Where  the  natural  precipitation  is  light  and  the 
amount  of  water  stored  in  the  soil  is  not  large,  the 
gain  resulting  from  the  use  of  the  early  spring  mois- 
ture often  decides  the  question  in  favor  of  fall 
sowing. 

The  disadvantages  of  fall  sowing  are  also  many. 
The  uncertainty  of  the  fall  rains  must  first  be  con- 
sidered. In  ordinary  practice,  seed  sown  in  the  fall 
does  not  germinate  until  a  rain  comes,  unless  indeed 
sowing  is  done  immediately  after  a  rain.  The  fall 
rains  are  uncertain  as  to  quantity.  In  many  cas 
they  are  so  light  that  they  suffice  only  to  start  ger- 
mination and  not  to  complete  it  and  give  the  plants 
the  proper  start.  Such  incomplete  germination  fre- 
quently causes  the  total  loss  of  the  crop.  Even  if  the 
stand  of  the  fall  crop  is  satisfactory,  there  is  always 
the  danger  of  winter-killing  to  be  reckoned  with. 
The  real  cause  of  winter-killing  is  not  yet  clearly 
understood,  though  it  seems  that  repeated  thawing 
and  freezing,  drying  winter  winds,  accompanied  by 


FALL   SOWING  215 

dry  cold  or  protracted  periods  of  intense  cold,  destroy 
the  vitality  of  the  seed  and  young  root  system.  Con- 
tinuous but  moderate  cold  is  not  ordinarily  very 
injurious.  The  liability  to  winter-killing  is,  there- 
fore, very  much  greater  wherever  the  winters  are 
open  than  in  places  where  the  snow  covers  the  ground 
the  larger  part  of  the  winter.  It  is  also  to  be  kept  in 
mind  that  some  varieties  are  very  resistant  to  winter- 
killing, while  others  require  well-covered  winters. 
Fall  sowing  is  preferable  wherever  the  bulk  of  the 
precipitation  comes  in  winter  and  spring  and  where 
the  winters  are  covered  for  some  time  with  snow  and 
the  summers  are  dry.  Under  such  conditions  it  is 
very  important  that  the  crop  make  use  of  the  mois- 
ture stored  in  the  soil  in  the  early  spring.  Wherever 
the  precipitation  comes  largely  in  late  spring  and 
summer,  the  arguments  in  favor  of  fall  sowing  are 
not  so  strong,  and  in  such  localities  spring  sowing  is 
often  more  desirable  than  fall  sowing.  In  the  Great 
Plains  district,  therefore,  spring  sowing  is  usually 
recommended,  though  fall-sown  crops  nearly  always, 
even  there,  yield  the  larger  crops.  In  the  inter- 
mountain  states,  with  wet  winters  and  dry  summers, 
fall  sowing  has  almost  wholly  replaced  spring  sowing. 
In  fact,  Farrell  reports  that  upon  the  Nephi  (Utah) 
substation  the  average  of  six  years  shows  about 
twenty  bushels  of  wheat  from  fall-so wn seed  as  against 
about  thirteen  bushels  from  spring-sown  seed.  Under 
the  California  climate,  with  wet  winters  and  a  winter 


216  DRY-FARMING 

temperature  high  enough  for  plant  growth,  fall  sow- 
ing is  also  a  general  practice.  Wherever  the  condi- 
tions are  favorable,  fall  sowing  should  be  practiced, 
for  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  best  principles  of  water 
conservation.  Even  in  districts  where  the  precipita- 
tion comes  chiefly  in  the  summer,  it  may  be  found 
that  fall  sowing,  after  all,  is  preferable. 

The  right  time  to  sow  in  the  fall  can  be  fixed  only 
with  great  difficulty,  for  so  much  depends  upon  the 
climatic  conditions.  In  fact  the  practice  varies  in 
accordance  with  differences  in  fall  precipitation 
and  early  fall  frosts.  Where  numerous  fall  rains 
maintain  the  soil  in  a  fairly  moist  condition  and  the 
temperature  is  not  too  low,  the  problem  is  compara- 
tively simple.  In  such  districts,  for  latitudes  repre- 
sented by  the  dry-farm  sections  of  the  United 
States,  a  good  time  for  fall  planting  is  ordinarily 
from  the  first  of  September  to  the  middle  of  October. 
If  sown  much  earlier  in  such  districts,  the  growth  is 
likely  to  be  too  rank  and  subject  to  dangerous  injury 
by  frosts,  and  as  suggested  by  Farrell  the  very  large 
development  of  the  root  system  in  the  fall  may 
cause,  the  following  summer,  a  dangerously  large 
growth  of  foliage;  that  is,  the  crop  may  run  to 
straw  at  the  expense  of  the  grain.  If  sown  much 
later,  the  chances  are  that  the  crop  will  not  possess 
sufficient  vitality  to  withstand  the  cold  of  late  fall 
and  winter.  In  localities  where  the  late  summer  and 
the  early  fall  are  rainless,  it  is  much  more  difficult  to 


FALL   SOWING  217 

lay  down  a  definite  rule  covering  the  time  of  fall 
sowing.  The  dry-farmers  in  such  places  usually 
sow  at  any  convenient  time  in  the  hope  that  an  early 
rain  will  start  the  process  of  germination  and  growth. 
In  other  cases  planting  is  delayed  until  the  arrival 
of  the  first  fall  rain.  This  is  an  uncertain  and  usually 
unsatisfactory  practice,  since  it  often  happens  that 
the  sowing  is  delayed  until  too  late  in  the  fall  for  the 
best  results. 

In  districts  of  dry  late  summer  and  fall,  the  great- 
est danger  in  depending  upon  the  fall  rains  for  ger- 
mination lies  in  the  fact  that  the  precipitation  is 
often  so  small  that  it  initiates  germination  without 
being  sufficient  to  complete  it.  This  means  that 
when  the  seed  is  well  started  in  germination,  the 
moisture  gives  out.  When  another  slight  rain  comes 
a  little  later,  germination  is  again  started  and  pos- 
sibly again  stopped.  In  some  seasons  this  may  occur 
several  times,  to  the  permanent  injury  of  the  crop. 
Dry-farmers  try  to  provide  against  this  danger  by 
using  an  unusually  large  amount  of  seed,  assuming 
that  a  certain  amount  will  fail  to  come  up  because 
of  the  repeated  partial  germinations.  A  number  of 
investigators  have  demonstrated  that  a  seed  may 
start  to  germinate,  then  be  dried,  and  again  be  started 
to  germinate  several  times  in  succession  without 
wholly  destroying  the  vitality  of  the  seed.  Novvoc- 
zek  has  conducted  a  number  of  experiments  on  this 
subject,  with  the  following  results:  — 


218 


DRY-FARMING 


Effect  of  Repeated  Drying  on  Percentage  of 
Germination 


First  Ger- 
mination 

Third  Ger- 
mination 

Fifth  Ger- 
mination 

Seventh 
Germina- 
tion 

Wheat    .     .     . 

75 

57 

25 

1 

Barley    .     .     . 

85 

74 

33 

4 

Oats       .     .     . 

90 

77 

40 

8 

Corn       .     .     . 

98 

66 

3 

0 

Peas       .     .     . 

87 

3 

0 

0 

In  these  experiments  wheat  and  other  seeds  were 
allowed  to  germinate  and  dry  seven  times  in  succes- 
sion. With  each  partial  germination  the  percentage  of 
total  germination  decreased  until  at  the  seventh  ger- 
mination only  a  few  seeds  of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats 
retained  their  power.  This,  however,  is  practically 
the  condition  in  dry-farm  districts  with  rainless 
summers  and  falls,  where  fall  seeding  is  practiced. 
In  such  localities  little  dependence  should  be  placed 
on  the  fall  rains  and  greater  reliance  placed  on  a 
method  of  soil  treatment  that  will  insure  good  ger- 
mination. For  this  purpose  the  summer  fallow  has 
been  demonstrated  to  be  the  most  desirable  practice. 
If  the  soil  has  been  treated  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples laid  down  in  earlier  chapters,  the  fallowed  land 
will,  in  the  fall,  contain  a  sufficient  amount  of  mois- 
ture to  produce  complete  germination  though  no 
rains  may  fall.  Under  such  conditions  the  main 
consideration  is  to  plant  the  seed  so  deep  that  it  may 


Fig.  52.    Cultivating  oats  with  weeder.    Wyoming  State  Dry-Farm, 
Cheyenne. 


220  DRY-FARMING 

draw  freely  upon  the  stored  soil-moisture.  This 
method  makes  fall  germination  sure  in  districts 
where  the  natural  precipitation  is  not  to  be  depended 
upon. 

When  sowing  is  done  in  the  spring,  there  are  few 
factors  to  consider.  Whenever  the  temperature  is 
right  and  the  soil  has  dried  out  sufficiently  so  that 
agricultural  implements  may  be  used  properly,  it  is 
usually  safe  to  begin  sowing.  The  customs  which 
prevail  generally  with  regard  to  the  time  of  spring 
sowing  may  be  adopted  in  dry-farm  practices  also. 

Depth  of  seeding 

The  depth  to  which  seed  should  be  planted  in  the 
soil  is  of  importance  in  a  system  of  dry-farming. 
The  reserve  materials  in  seeds  are  used  to  produce 
the  first  roots  and  the  young  plants.  Xo  new  nutri- 
ment beyond  that  stored  in  the  soil  can  be  obtained 
by  the  plant  until  the  leaves  are  above  the  ground, 
able  to  gather  carbon  from  the  atmosphere.  The 
danger  of  deep  planting  lies,  therefore,  in  exhausting 
the  reserve  materials  of  the  seeds  before  the  plant 
has  been  able  to  push  its  leaves  above  the  ground. 
Should  this  occur,  the  plant  will  probably  die  in  the 
soil.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  seed  is  not  planted 
deeply  enough,  it  may  happen  that  the  roots  cannot 
be  sent  down  far  enough  to  connect  with  the  soil- 
water  reservoir  below.     Then,  the  root  system  will 


DEPTH   OF   SOWING  221 

not  be  strong  and  deep,  but  will  have  to  depend  for 
its  development  upon  the  surface  water,  which  is 
always  a  dangerous  practice  in  dry-farming.  The 
rule  as  to  the  depth  of  seeding  is  simply :  Plant  as 
deeply  as  is  safe.  The  depth  to  which  seeds  may  be 
safely  placed  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil,  its 
fertility,  its  physical  condition,  and  the  water  that 
it  contains.  In  sandy  soils,  planting  may  be  deeper 
than  in  clay  soils,  for  it  requires  less  energy  for  a 
plant  to  push  roots,  stems,  and  leaves  through  the 
loose  sandy  soil  than  through  the  more  compact  clay 
soil;  in  a  dry  soil  planting  may  be  deeper  than  in 
wet  soils;  likewise,  deep  planting  is  safer  in  a  loose 
soil  than  in  one  firmly  compacted ;  finally,  where  the 
moist  soil  is  considerable  distance  below  the  surface, 
deeper  planting  may  be  practiced  than  when  the 
moist  soil  is  near  the  surface.  Countless  experiments 
have  been  conducted  on  the  subject  of  depth  of  seed- 
ing. In  a  few  cases,  ordinary  agricultural  seeds 
planted  eight  inches  deep  have  come  up  and  pro- 
duced satisfactory  plants.  However,  the  consensus 
of  opinion  is  that  from  one  to  three  inches  are  best  in 
humid  districts,  but  that,  everything  considered,  four 
inches  is  the  best  depth  under  dry-farm  conditions. 
Under  a  low  natural  precipitation,  where  the  methods 
of  dry- farming  are  practiced,  it  is  always  safe  to 
plant  deeply,  for  such  a  practice  will  develop  and 
strengthen  the  root  system,  which  is  one  big  step 
toward  successful  dry-farming. 


222  DRY-FARMING 

Quantity  to  sow 

Numerous  dry- farm  failures  may  be  charged 
wholly  to  ignorance  concerning  the  quantity  of  seed 
to  sow.  In  no  other  practice  has  the  custom  of 
humid  countries  been  followed  more  religiously  by 
dry-farmers,  and  failure  has  nearly  always  resulted. 
The  discussions  in  this  volume  have  brought  out  the 
fact  that  every  plant  of  whatever  character  requires 
a  large  amount  of  water  for  its  growth.  From  the 
first  day  of  its  growth  to  the  day  of  its  maturity, 
large  amounts  of  water  are  taken  from  the  soil 
through  the  plant  and  evaporated  into  the  air 
through  the  leaves.  When  the  large  quantities  of 
seed  employed  in  humid  countries  have  been  sown 
on  dry  lands,  the  result  has  usually  been  an  excellent 
stand  early  in  the  season,  with  a  crop  splendid  in 
appearance  up  to  early  summer.  A  luxuriant  spring 
crop  reduces,  however,  the  water  content  of  the  soil 
so  greatly  that  when  the  heat  of  the  summer  arrives, 
there  is  not  sufficient  water  left  in  the  soil  to  support 
the  final  development  and  ripening.  A  thick  stand 
in  early  spring  is  no  assurance  to  the  dry-farmer  of 
a  good  harvest.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  usually  the 
field  with  a  thin  stand  in  spring  that  stands  up  best 
through  the  summer  and  yields  most  at  the  time  of 
harvest.  The  quantity  of  seed  sown  should  vary  with 
the  soil  conditions:  the  more  fertile  the  soil  is,  the 
more  seed  may  be  used;  the  more  water  in  the  soil, 


QUANTITY   OF   SEED  223 

the  more  seed  may  be  sown;  as  the  fertility  or  the 
water  content  diminishes,  the  amount  of  seed  should 
likewise  be  diminished.  Under  dry-farm  conditions 
the  fertility  is  good,  but  the  moisture  is  low.  As  a 
general  principle,  therefore,  light  seeding  should  be 
practiced  on  dry-farms,  though  it  should  be  sufficient 
to  yield  a  crop  that  will  shade  the  ground  well.  If 
the  sowing  is  done  early,  in  fall  or  spring,  less  seed 
may  be  used  than  if  the  sowing  is  late,  because  the 
early  sowing  gives  a  better  chance  for  root  develop- 
ment, which  results,  ordinarily,  in  more  vigorous 
plants  that  consume  more  moisture  than  the  smaller 
and  weaker  plants  of  later  sowing.  If  the  winters 
are  mild  and  well  covered  with  snow,  less  seed  may 
be  used  than  in  districts  where  severe  or  open  winters 
cause  a  certain  amount  of  winter-killing.  On  a  good 
seed-bed  of  fallowed  soil  less  seed  may  be  used  than 
where  the  soil  has  not  been  carefully  tilled  and  is 
somewhat  rough  and  lumpy  and  unfavorable  for 
complete  germination.  The  yield  of  any  crop  is  not 
directly  proportional  to  the  amount  sown,  unless  all 
factors  contributing  to  germination  are  alike.  In 
the  case  of  wheat  and  other  grains,  thin  seeding  also 
gives  a  plant  a  better  chance  for  stooling,  which  is 
Nature's  method  of  adapting  the  plant  to  the  pre- 
vailing moisture  and  fertility,  conditions.  When 
plants  are  crowded,  stooling  cannot  occur  to  any 
marked  degree,  and  the  crop  is  rendered  helpless  in 
attempts  to  adapt  itself  to  surrounding  conditions. 


224  DRY-FARMING 

In  general  the  rule  may  be  laid  down  that  a  little 
more  than  one  half  as  much  seed  should  be  used  in 
dry-farm  districts  with  an  annual  rainfall  of  about 
fifteen  inches  than  is  used  in  humid  districts.  That 
is,  as  against  the  customary  five  pecks  of  wheat  used 
per  acre  in  humid  countries  about  three  pecks  or  even 
two  pecks  should  be  used  on  dry-farms.  Merrill 
recommends  the  seeding  of  oats  at  the  rate  of  about 
three  pecks  per  acre;  of  barley,  about  three  pecks; 
of  rye,  two  pecks;  of  alfalfa,  six  pounds;  of  corn, 
two  kernels  to  the  hill,  and  other  crops  in  the  same 
proportion.  No  invariable  rule  can  be  laid  down 
for  perfect  germination.  A  small  quantity  of  seed  is 
usually  sufficient ;  but  where  germination  frequently 
fails  in  part,  more  seed  must  be  used.  If  the  stand 
is  too  thick  at  the  beginning  of  the  growing  season, 
it  must  be  harrowed  out.  Naturally,  the  quantity  of 
seed  to  be  used  should  be  based  on  the  number  of 
kernels  as  well  as  on  the  weight.  For  instance,  since 
the  larger  the  individual  wheat  kernels  the  fewer  in  a 
bushel,  fewer  plants  would  be  produced  from  a  bushel 
of  large  than  from  a  bushel  of  small  seed  wheat. 
The  size  of  the  seed  in  determining  the  amount  for 
sowing  is  often  important  and  should  be  determined 
by  some  simple  method,  such  as  counting  the  seeds 
required  to  fill  a  small  bottle. 


SOWING   AND   HARVESTING  225 

Method  of  sowing 

There  should  really  be  no  need  of  discussing  the 
method  of  sowing  were  it  not  that  even  at  this  day 
there  are  farmers  in  the  dry-farm  district  who  sow 
by  broadcasting  and  insist  upon  the  superiority  of 
this  method.  The  broadcasting  of  seed  has  no  place 
in  any  system  of  scientific  agriculture,  least  of  all  in 
dry-farming,  where  success  depends  upon  the  degree 
with  which  all  conditions  are  controlled.  In  all  good 
dry-farm  practice  seed  should  be  placed  in  rows, 
preferably  by  means  of  one  of  the  numerous  forms  of 
drill  seeders  found  upon  the  market.  The  advan- 
tages of  the  drill  are  almost  self-evident.  It  permits 
uniform  distribution  of  the  seed,  which  is  indispens- 
able for  success  on  soils  that  receive  a  limited  rainfall. 
The  seed  may  be  placed  at  an  even  depth,  which  is 
very  necessary,  especially  in  fall  sowing,  where  the 
seed  depends  for  proper  germination  upon  the  mois- 
ture already  stored  in  the  soil.  The  deep  seeding 
often  necessary  under  dry-farm  conditions  makes 
the  drill  indispensable.  Moreover,  Hunt  has  ex- 
plained that  the  drill  furrows  themselves  have  defi- 
nite advantages.  During  the  winter  the  furrows 
catch  the  snow,  and  because  of  the  protection  thus 
rendered,  the  seed  is  less  likely  to  be  heaved  out  by 
repeated  freezing  and  thawing.  The  drill  furrow  also 
protects  to  a  certain  extent  against  the  drying  action 
of  winds  and  in  that  way,  though  the  furrows  are 


226  DRY-FARMING 

small,  they  aid  materially  in  enabling  the  young  plant 
to  pass  through  the  winter  successfully.  The  rains 
of  fall  and  spring  are  accumulated  in  the  furrows  and 
made  easily  accessible  to  plants.  Moreover,  many 
of  the  drills  have  attachments  whereby  the  soil  is 
pressed  around  the  seed  and  the  topsoil  afterwards 
stirred  to  prevent  evaporation.  This  permits  of  a 
much  more  rapid  and  complete  germination.  The 
drill,  the  advantages  of  which  were  taught  two  hun- 
dred years  ago  by  Jethro  Tull,  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  implements  of  modern  agriculture.  On 
dry-farms  it  is  indispensable.  The  dry-farmer  should 
make  a  careful  study  of  the  drills  on  the  market  and 
choose  such  as  comply  with  the  principles  of  the 
successful  prosecution  of  dry-farming.  Drill  culture 
is  the  only  method  of  sowing  that  can  be  permitted 
if  uniform  success  is  desired. 

The  care  of  the  crop 

Excepting  the  special  treatment  for  soil-moisture 
conservation,  dry-farm  crops  should  receive  the 
treatment  usually  given  crops  growing  under  humid 
conditions.  The  light  rains  that  frequently  fall  in 
autunm  sometimes  form  a  crust  on  the  top  of  the  soil, 
which  hinders  the  proper  germination  and  growth 
of  the  fall-sown  crop.  It  may  be  necessary,  therefore, 
for  the  farmer  to  go  over  the  land  in  the  fall  with  a 
disk  or  more  preferably  with  a  corrugated  roller. 


CROP   TREATMENT  227 

Ordinarily,  however,  after  fall  sowing  there  is  no 
further  need  of  treatment  until  the  following  spring. 
The  spring  treatment  is  of  considerably  more  im- 
portance, for  when  the  warmth  of  spring  and  early 
summer  begins  to  make  itself  felt,  a  crust  forms  over 
many  kinds  of  dry-farm  soils.  This  is  especially  true 
where  the  soil  is  of  the  distinctively  arid  kind  and 
poor  in  organic  matter.  Such  a  crust  should  be 
broken  early  in  order  to  give  the  young  plants  a 
chance  to  develop  freely.  This  may  be  accomplished, 
as  above  stated,  by  the  use  of  a  disk,  corrugated 
roller,  or  ordinary  smoothing  harrow. 

When  the  young  grain  is  well  under  way,  it  may  be 
found  to  be  too  thick.  If  so,  the  crop  may  be 
thinned  by  going  over  the  field  with  a  good  iron- 
tooth  harrow  with  the  teeth  so  set  as  to  tear  out  a 
portion  of  the  plants.  This  treatment  may  enable 
the  remaining  plants  to  mature  with  the  limited 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil.  Paradoxically,  if 
the  crop  seems  to  be  too  thin  in  the  spring,  harrowing 
may  also  be  of  service.  In  such  a  case  the  teeth 
should  be  slanted  backwards  and  the  harrowing  done 
simply  for  the  purpose  of  stirring  the  soil  without 
injury  to  the  plant,  to  conserve  the  moisture  stored 
in  the  soil  and  to  accelerate  the  formation  of  nitrates. 
The  conserved  moisture  and  added  fertility  will 
strengthen  the  growth  and  diminish  the  water  re- 
quirements of  the  plants,  and  thus  yield  a  larger  crop. 
The  iron-tooth  harrow  is  a  very  useful  implement 


228  DRY-FARMING 

on  the  dry-farm  when  the  crops  are  young.  After 
the  plants  are  up  so  high  that  the  harrow  cannot  be 
used  on  them  no  special  care  need  be  given  them, 
unless  indeed  they  are  cultivated  crops  like  corn  or 
potatoes  which,  of  course,  as  explained  in  previous 
chapters,  should  receive  continual  cultivation. 

Harvesting 

The  methods  of  harvesting  crops  on  dry-farms  are 
practically  those  for  farms  in  humid  districts.  The 
one  great  exception  may  be  the  use  of  the  header 
on  the  grain  farms  of  the  dry-farm  sections.  The 
header  has  now  become  well-nigh  general  in  its  use. 
Instead  of  cutting  and  binding  the  grain,  as  in  the  old 
method,  the  heads  are  simply  cut  off  and  piled  in 
large  stacks  which  later  are  threshed.  The  high 
straw  which  remains  is  plowed  under  in  the  fall  and 
helps  to  supply  the  soil  with  organic  matter.  The 
maintenance  of  dry-farms  for  over  a  generation 
without  the  addition  of  manures  has  been  made  p 
sible  by  the  organic  matter  added  to  the  soil  in  the 
decay  cf  the  high  vigorous  straw  remaining  after  the 
header.  In  fact,  the  changes  occurring  in  the  soil  in 
connection  with  the  decaying  of  the  header  stubble 
appear  to  have  actually  increased  the  available  fer- 
tility. Hundreds  of  Utah  dry  wheat  farms  during 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  have  increased  in  fertility, 
or  at  least  in  productive  power,  due  undoubtedly  to 


230  DRY-FARMING 

the  introduction  of  the  header  system  of  harvesting. 
This  system  of  harvesting  also  makes  the  practice  of 
fallowing  much  more  effective,  for  it  helps  maintain 
the  organic  matter  which  is  drawn  upon  by  the  fallow- 
seasons.  The  header  should  be  used  wherever  prac- 
ticable. The  fear  has  been  expressed  that  the  high 
header  straw  plowed  under  will  make  the  soil  so 
loose  as  to  render  proper  sowing  difficult  and  also, 
because  of  the  easy  circulation  of  air  in  the  upper 
soil  layers,  cause  a  large  loss  of  soil-moisture.  This 
fear  has  been  found  to  be  groundless,  for  wherever 
the  header  straw  has  been  plowed  under,  especially 
in  connection  with  fallowing,  the  soil  has  been  bene- 
fited. 

Rapidity  and  economy  in  harvesting  are  vital  fac- 
tors in  dry-farming,  and  new  devices  are  constantly 
being  offered  to  expedite  the  work.  Of  recent  years 
the  combined  harvester  and  thresher  has  come  into 
general  use.  It  is  a  large  header  combined  with  an 
ordinary  threshing  machine.  The  grain  is  headed 
and  threshed  in  one  operation  and  the  sacks  dropped 
along  the  path  of  the  machine.  The  straw  is  scat- 
tered over  the  field  where  it  belongs. 

All  in  all,  the  question  of  sowing,  care  of  crop,  and 
harvesting  may  be  answered  by  the  methods  that 
have  been  so  well  developed  in  countries  of  abundant 
rainfall,  except  as  new  methods  may  be  required  to 
offset  the  deficiency  in  the  rainfall  which  is  the  deter- 
mining condition  of  dry-farming. 


Fig.  64.     Dry-farm  oat  field.     Utah. 


CHAPTER   XII 


CROPS   FOR   DRY-FARMING 


The  work  of  the  dry-farmer  is  only  half  done  when 
the  soil  has  been  properly  prepared,  by  deep  plowing, 
cultivation,  and  fallowing,  for  the  planting  of  the  crop. 
The  choice  of  the  crop,  its  proper  seeding,  and  its 
correct  care  and  harvesting  are  as  important  as  ra- 
tional soil  treatment  in  the  successful  pursuit  of 
dry-farming.  It  is  true  that  in  general  the  kinds 
of  crops  ordinarily  cultivated  in  humid  regions  are 
grown  also  on  arid  lands,  but  varieties  especially 
adapted  to  the  prevailing  dry-farm  conditions  must 
be  used  if  any  certainty  of  harvest  is  desired.  Plants 
possess  a  marvelous  power  of  adaptation  to  environ- 
ment, and  this  power  becomes  stronger  as  successive 
generations  of  plants  are  grown  under  the  given  con- 
ditions. Thus,  plants  which  have  been  grown  for 
long  periods  of  time  in  countries  of  abundant  rainfall 
and  characteristic  humid  climate  and  soil  yield  well 
under  such  conditions,  but  usually  suffer  and  die  or 
at  best  yield  scantily  if  planted  in  hot  rainless  coun- 
tries with  dee})  soils.  Yet.  such  plants,  if  grown  year 
after  year  under  arid  conditions,  become  accustomed 
to  warmth  and  dryness  and  in  time  will  yield  perhaps 
nearly  as  well  or  it  may  be  better  in  their  new  sur- 
roundings.     The   dry-farmer  who   looks   for    large 

232 


CROPS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  233 

harvests  must  use  every  care  to  secure  varieties  of 
crops  that  through  generations  of  breeding  have  be^ 
come  adapted  to  the  conditions  prevailing  on  his 
farm.  Home-grown  seeds,  if  grown  properly,  are 
therefore  of  the  highest  value.  In  fact,  in  the  dis- 
tricts where  dry-farming  has  been  practiced  longest 
the  best  yielding  varieties  are,  with  very  few  excep- 
tions, those  that  have  been  grown  for  many  succes- 
sive years  on  the  same  lands.  The  comparative 
newness  of  the  attempts  to  produce  profitable  crops 
in  the  present  dry-farming  territory  and  the  conse- 
quent absence  of  home-grown  seed  has  rendered  it 
wise  to  explore  other  regions  of  the  world,  with  similar 
climatic  conditions,  but  long  inhabited,  for  suitable 
crop  varieties.  The  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  has  accomplished  much  good  work  in 
this  direction.  The  breeding  of  new  varieties  by 
scientific  methods  is  also  important,  though  really 
valuable  results  cannot  be  expected  for  many  years 
to  come.  When  results  do  come  from  breeding  ex- 
periments, they  will  probably  be  of  the  greatest  value 
to  the  dry-farmer.  Meanwhile,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  at  the  present,  our  knowledge  of  dry- 
farm  crops  is  extremely  limited.  Every  year  will 
probably  bring  new  additions  to  the  list  and  great 
improvements  of  the  crops  and  varieties  now  recom~ 
mended.  The  progressive  dry-farmer  should  there- 
fore keep  in  close  touch  with  state  and  government 
workers  concerning  the  best  varieties  to  use. 


234  DRY-FARMING 

Moreover,  while  the  various  sections  of  the  dry- 
farming  territory  are  alike  in  receiving  a  small  amount 
of  rainfall,  they  are  widely  different  in  other  conditions 
affecting  plant  growth,  such  as  soils,  winds,  average 
temperature,  and  character  and  severity  of  the  win- 
ters. Until  trials  have  been  made  in  all  these  varying 
localities,  it  is  not  safe  to  make  unqualified  recom- 
mendations of  any  crop  or  crop  variety.  At  the 
present  we  can  only  say  that  for  dry-farm  purposes 
we  must  have  plants  that  will  produce  the  maximum 
quantity  of  dry  matter  with  the  minimum  quantity 
of  water ;  and  that  their  periods  of  growth  must  be 
the  shortest  possible.  However,  enough  work  has 
been  done  to  establish  some  general  rules  for  the 
guidance  of  the  dry-farmer  in  the  selection  of  crops. 
Undoubtedly,  we  have  as  yet  had  only  a  glimpse  of 
the  vast  crop  possibilities  of  the  dry-farming  territory 
in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  other  countries. 

Wheat 

Wheat  is  the  leading  dry-farm  crop.  Every  pros- 
pect indicates  that  it  will  retain  its  preeminence. 
Not  only  is  it  the  most  generally  used  cereal,  but  the 
world  is  rapidly  learning  to  depend  more  and  more 
upon  the  dry-farming  areas  of  the  world  for  wheat 
production.  In  the  arid  and  semiarid  regions  it  is 
now  a  commonly  accepted  doctrine  that  upon  the 
expensive  irrigated  lands  should   be  grown   fruits, 


236  DRY-FARMING 

vegetables,  sugar  beets,  and  other  intensive  crops, 
while  wheat,  corn,  and  other  grains  and  even  much 
of  the  forage  should  be  grown  as  extensive  crops 
upon  the  non-irrigated  or  dry-farm  lands.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  it  will 
be  a  rarity  to  see  grain  grown  upon  irrigated  soil,  pro- 
viding the  climatic  conditions  permit  the  raising  of 
more  extensive  crops. 

In  view  of  the  present  and  future  greatness  of  the 
wheat  crop  on  semiarid  lands,  it  is  very  important 
to  secure  the  varieties  that  will  best  meet  the  varying 
dry-farm  conditions.  Much  has  been  done  to  this 
end,  but  more  needs  to  be  done.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  best  wheats  is  still  fragmentary.  This  is  even 
more  true  of  other  dry-farm  crops.  According  to 
Jardine,  the  dry-farm  wheats  grown  at  present  in  the 
United  States  may  be  classified  as  follows:  — 

I.   Hard  spring  wheats : 

(a)  Common 

(b)  Durum 

II.   Winter  wheats : 

(a)  Hard  wheats  (Crimean) 

(b)  Semihard  wheats  (Intermountain) 

(c)  Soft  wheats  (Pacific) 

The  common  varieties  of  hard  spring  wheats  are 
grown  principally  in  districts  where  winter  wheats 
have  not  as  yet  been  successful:  that  is,  in  the 
Dakotas,  northwestern  Nebraska,  and  other  localities 
with  long  winters  and  periods  of  alternate  thawing 


WHEAT   FOR   DRY-FARMING  237 

and  severe  freezing.  The  superior  value  of  winter 
wheat  has  been  so  clearly  demonstrated  that  at- 
tempts are  being  made  to  develop  in  every  locality 
winter  wheats  that  can  endure  the  prevailing  cli- 
matic conditions.  Spring  wheats  are  also  grown  in  a 
scattering  way  and  in  small  quantities  over  the  whole 
dry-farm  territory.  The  two  most  valuable  varie- 
ties of  the  common  hard  spring  wheat  are  Blue  Stem 
and  Red  Fife,  both  well-established  varieties  of  ex- 
cellent milling  qualities,  grown  in  immense  quanti- 
ties in  the  Northeastern  corner  of  the  dry-farm  ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States  and  commanding  the 
best  prices  on  the  markets  of  the  world.  It  is  nota- 
ble that  Red  Fife  originated  in  Russia,  the  country 
which  has  given  us  so  many  good  dry-farm  crops. 

The  durum  wheats  or  macaroni  wheats,  as  they  are 
often  called,  are  also  spring  wheats,  which  promise  to 
displace  all  other  spring  varieties  because  of  their 
excellent  yields  under  extreme  dry-farm  conditions. 
These  wheats,  though  known  for  more  than  a  genera- 
tion through  occasional  shipments  from  Russia, 
Algeria,  and  Chile,  were  introduced  to  the  farmers  of 
the  United  States  only  in  1900,  through  the  explora- 
tions and  enthusiastic  advocacy  of  Carleton  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Since 
that  time  they  have  been  grown  in  nearly  all  the  dry- 
farm  states  and  especially  in  the  Great  Plains  area.: 
Wherever  tried  they  have  yielded  well,  in  some 
cases  as  much  as  the  old  established  winter  varieties. 


238  DRY-FARMING 

The  extreme  hardness  of  these  wheats  made  it  diffi- 
cult to  induce  the  millers  operating  mills  fitted  for 
grinding  softer  wheats  to  accept  them  for  flour- 
making  purposes.  This  prejudice  has,  however, 
gradually  vanished,  and  to-day  the  durum  wheats  are 
in  great  demand,  especially  for  blending  with  the 
softer  wheats  and  for  the  making  of  macaroni.  Re- 
cently the  popularity  of  the  durum  wheats  among 
the  farmers  has  been  enhanced,  owing  to  the  dis- 
covery that  thev  are  strongly  rust  resistant.  (See 
Fig.  61.) 

The  winter  wheats,  as  has  been  repeatedly  sug- 
gested in  preceding  chapters,  are  most  desirable  for 
dry-farm  purposes,  wherever  they  can  be  grown,  and 
especially  in  localities  where  a  fair  precipitation  oc- 
curs in  the  winter  and  spring.  The  hard  winter 
wheats  are  represented  mainly  by  the  Crimean  group, 
the  chief  members  of  which  are  Turkey,  Kharkow, 
and  Crimean.  These  wheats  also  originated  in 
Russia  and  are  said  to  have  been  brought  to  the 
United  States  a  generation  ago  by  Mennonite  colo- 
nists. At  present  these  wheats  are  grown  chiefly  in 
the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  Great  Plains 
area  and  in  Canada,  though  they  are  rapidly  spreading 
over  the  intermountain  country.  These  are  good 
milling  wheats  of  high  gluten  content  and  }rielding 
abundantly  under  dry-farm  conditions.  It  is  quite 
clear  that  these  wheats  will  soon  displace  the  older 
winter  wheats  formerly  grown  on  dry-farms.    Turkey 


WHEAT   FOR   DRY-FARMING 


239 


wheat   promises   to   become   the   leading   dry-farm 
wheat,    (See  Figs.  56,  62.) 

The  semisoft  winter  wheats  are  grown  chiefly  in 
the  intermountain   country.     They  are   represented 


Fig.  56.  Dry-farm  Turkey  wheat,  Fergus  Co..  Montana.  Yield  62  bushels 
per  acre.  This  is  perhaps  the  best  variety  of  dry-farm  wheat  known 
to-day. 


by  a  very  large  number  of  varieties,  all  tending  to- 
ward softness  and  starchiness.  This  may  in  part  be 
due  to  climatic,  soil,  and  irrigation  conditions,  but  is 
more  likely  a  result  of  inherent  qualities  in  the  varie- 


240  DRY-FARMING 

ties  used.  They  are  rapidly  being  displaced  by  the 
hard  varieties. 

The  group  of  soft  winter  wheats  includes  numerous 
varieties  grown  extensively  in  the  famous  wheat 
districts  of  California,  Oregon,  Washington,  and 
northern  Idaho.  The  main  varieties  are  Red  Russian 
and  Palouse  Blue  Stem,  in  Washington  and  Idaho; 
Red  Chaff  and  Foise  in  Oregon,  and  Defiance,  Little 
Club,  Sonora,  and  White  Australian  in  California. 
These  are  all  soft,  white,  and  rather  poor  in  gluten. 
It  is  believed  that  under  given  climatic,  soil,  and  cul- 
tural conditions,  all  wheat  varieties  will  approach 
one  type,  distinctive  of  the  conditions  in  question, 
and  that  the  California  wheat  type  is  a  result  of  pre- 
vailing unchangeable  conditions.  More  research  is 
needed,  however,  before  definite  principles  can  be  laid 
down  concerning  the  formation  of  distinctive  wheat 
types  in  the  various  dry-farm  sections.  Under  any 
condition,  a  change  of  seed,  keeping  improvement 
always  in  view,  should  be  beneficial. 

Jardine  has  reminded  the  dry-farmers  of  the  United 
States  that  before  the  production  of  wheat  on  the 
dry-farms  can  reach  its  full  possibilities  under  any 
acreage,  sufficient  quantities  must  be  grown  of  a  few 
varieties  to  affect  the  large  markets.  This  is  espe- 
cially important  in  the  intermountain  country  where 
no  uniformity  exists,  but  the  warning  should  be 
heeded  also  by  the  Pacific  coast  and  Great  Plains 
wheat  areas.     As  soon  as  the  best  varieties  are  found 


SMALL    GRAINS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  241 

they  should  displace  the  miscellaneous  collection  of 
wheat  varieties  now  grown.  The  individual  farmer 
can  be  a  law  unto  himself  no  more  in  wheat  growing 
than  in  fruit  growing,  if  he  desires  to  reap  the  largest 
reward  of  his  efforts.  Only  by  uniformity  of  kind 
and  quality  and  large  production  will  any  one  locality 
impress  itself  upon  the  markets  and  create  a  demand. 
The  changes  now  in  progress  by  the  dry-farmers  of 
the  United  States  indicate  that  this  lesson  has  been 
taken  to  heart.  The  principle  is  equally  important 
for  all  countries  where  dry-farmiug  is  practiced. 

Other  small  grain* 

Oats  is  undoubtedly  a  coming  dry-farm  crop. 
Several  varieties  have  been  found  which  yield  well 
on  lands  that  receive  an  average  annual  rainfall  of 
less  than  fifteen  inches.  Others  will  no  doubt  be 
discovered  or  developed  as  special  attention  is  given 
to  dry-farm  oats.  Oats  occurs  as  spring  and  winter 
varieties,  but  only  one  winter  variety  has  as  yet 
found  place  in  the  list  of  dry-farm  crops.  The  leading 
spring  varieties  of  oats  are  the  Sixty-Day,  Kherson, 
Burt,  and  Swedish  Select.  The  one  winter  variety, 
which  is  grown  chiefly  in  Utah,  is  the  Boswell,  a 
black  variety  originally  brought  from  England  about 
1901. 

Barley,  like  the  other  common  grains,  occurs  in 
varieties  that  grow  well  on  dry-farms.     In  compari- 


242  DRY-FARMING 

son  with  wheat  very  little  search  has  been  made  for 
dry-farm  barleys,  and,  naturally,  the  list  of  tested 
varieties  is  very  small.  Like  wheat  and  oats,  barley 
occurs  in  spring  and  winter  varieties,  but  as  in  the 


!s3pR  jy^SS^"  ^fMaPir 

l^^iSHSfe^'-^Xi^«M 

WSmzftem 

Fig.  57.     Dry-farm  barley  field,  Washoe  Co.,  Nevada. 

case  of  oats  only  one  winter  variety  has  as  yet  found 
its  way  into  the  approved  list  of  dry-farm  crops. 
The  best  dry-farm  spring  barleys  are  those  belonging 
to  the  beardless  and  hull-less  types,  though  the  more 
common  varieties  also  yield  well,  especially  the  six- 
rowed  beardless  barley.    The  winter  variety  is  the 


CROPS    FOR   DRY-FARMING  243 

Tennessee  Winter,  which  is  already  well  distributed 
over  the  Great  Plains  district. 

Rye  is  one  of  the  surest  dry-farm  crops.  It  yields 
good  crops  of  straw  and  grain,  both  of  which  are  valu- 
able stock  foods.  In  fact,  the  great  power  of  rye  to 
survive  and  grow  luxuriantly  under  the  most  trying 
dry-farm  conditions  is  the  chief  objection  to  it.  Once 
started,  it  is  hard  to  eradicate.  Properly  cultivated 
and  used  either  as  a  stock  feed  or  as  green  manure, 
it  is  very  valuable.  Rye  occurs  as  both  spring  and 
winter  varieties.  The  winter  varieties  are  usually 
most  satisfactory. 

Carleton  has  recommended  Entmer  as  a  crop  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  semiarid  conditions.  Eramer  is 
a  species  of  wheat  to  the  berries  of  which  the  chaff 
adheres  very  closely.  It  is  highly  prized  as  a  stock 
feed.  In  Russia  and  Germany  it  is  grown  in  very 
large  quantities.  It  is  especially  adapted  to  arid  and 
semiarid  conditions,  but  will  probably  thrive  best 
where  the  winters  are  dry  and  summers  wet.  It 
exists  as  spring  and  winter  varieties.  As  with  the 
other  small  grains,  the  success  of  eramer  will  depend 
largely  upon  the  satisfactory  development  of  winter 
varieties. 

Corn 

Of  all  crops  yet  tried  on  dry-farms,  corn  is  perhaps 
the  most  uniformly  successful  under  extreme  dry 
conditions.     If  the  soil  treatment  and  planting  have 


244  DRY-FARMING 

been  right,  the  failures  that  have  been  reported  may 
invariably  be  traced  to  the  use  of  seed  which  had  not 
been  acclimated.  The  American  Indians  grow  corn 
which  is  excellent  for  dry-farm  purposes;  many  of 
the  western  farmers  have  likewise  produced  strains 
that  use  the  minimum  of  moisture,  and,  moreover, 
corn  brought  from  humid  sections  adapts  itself  to 
arid  conditions  in  a  very  few  years.  Escobar  reports 
a  native  corn  grown  in  Mexico  with  low  stalks  and 
small  ears  that  well  endures  desert  conditions.  In 
extremely  dry  years  corn  does  not  always  produce  a 
profitable  crop  of  seed,  but  the  crop  as  a  whole,  for 
forage  purposes,  seldom  fails  to  pay  expenses  and 
leave  a  margin  for  profit.  In  wetter  years  there  is  a 
corresponding  increase  of  the  corn  crop.  The  dry- 
farming  territory  does  not  yet  realize  the  value  of 
corn  as  a  dry-farm  crop.  The  known  facts  concern- 
ing corn  make  it  safe  to  predict,  however,  that  its  dry 
farm  acreage  will  increase  rapidly,  and  that  in  time 
it  will  crowd  the  wheat  crop  for  preeminence. 

Sorghums 

Among  dry-farm  crops  not  popularly  known  are 
the  sorghums,  which  promise  to  become  excellent 
yielders  under  arid  conditions.  The  sorghums  are 
supposed  to  have  come  from  the  tropical  sections 
of  the  globe,  but  they  are  now  scattered  over  the 
earth  in  all  climes.     The  sorghums  have  been  known 


SORGHUMS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  245 

in  the  United  States  for  over  half  a  century,  but  it 
was  only  when  dry-farming  began  to  develop  so  tre- 
mendously that  the  drouth-resisting  power  of  the 
sorghums  was  recalled.  According  to  Ball,  the  sor- 
ghums fall  into  the  following  classes :  — 

THE   SORGHUMS 

1.  Broom  corns 

2.  Sorgas  or  sweet  sorghums 

3.  Kafirs 

4.  Durras 

The  broom  corns  are  grown  onl}r  for  their  brush,  and 
are  not  considered  in  dry-farming;  the  sorgas  for 
forage  and  sirups,  and  are  especially  adapted  for  irri- 
gation or  humid  conditions,  though  they  are  said  to 
endure  dry-farm  conditions  better  than  corn.  The 
Kafirs  are  dry-farm  crops  and  are  grown  for  grain 
and  forage.  This  group  includes  Red  Kafir,  White 
Kafir,  Black-hulled  White  Kafir,  and  White  Milo,  all 
of  which  are  valuable  for  dry-farming.  The  Durras 
are  grown  almost  exclusively  for  seed  and  include 
Jerusalem  corn,  Brown  Durra,  and  Milo.  The  work 
of  Ball  has  made  Milo  one  of  the  most  important  dry- 
farm  crops.  As  improved,  the  crop  is  from  four  to 
four  and  a  half  feet  high,  with  mostly  erect  heads, 
carrying  a  large  quantity  of  seeds.  Milo  is  already 
a  staple  crop  in  parts  of  Texas,  Oklahoma,  Kansas, 
and  New  Mexico.     It  has  further  been  shown  to  be 


246 


DRY-FARMING 


adapted  to  conditions  in  the  Dakotas,    Nebraska, 
Colorado,  Arizona,  Utah,  and  Idaho.     It  will  prob- 


Fig.  58.     Dry-farm  corn  field.     Mt.  Air,  New  Mexico. 

ably  be  found,  in  some  varietal  form,  valuable  over 
the  whole  dry-farm  territory  where  the  altitude  is  not 
too  high  and  the  average  temperature  not  too   low. 


ALFALFA    FOR   DRY-FARMING  247 

It  has  yielded  an  average  of  forty  bushels  of  seed  to 
the  acre. 

Lucern  or  alfalfa 

Next  to  human  intelligence  and  industry,  alfalfa 
has  probably  been  the  chief  factor  in  the  development 
of  the  irrigated  West.  It  has  made  possible  a  rational 
system  of  agriculture,  with  the  live-stock  industry  and 
the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility  as  the  central  con- 
siderations. Alfalfa  is  now  being  recognized  as  a 
desirable  crop  in  humid  as  well  as  in  irrigated  sections, 
and  it  is  probable  that  alfalfa  will  soon  become  the 
chief  hay  crop  of  the  United  States.  Originally, 
lucern  came  from  the  hot  dry  countries  of  Asia,  where 
it  supplied  feed  to  the  animals  of  the  first  historical 
peoples.  Moreover,  its  long  tap  roots,  penetrating 
sometimes  forty  or  fifty  feet  into  the  ground,  suggest 
that  lucern  may  make  ready  use  of  deeply  stored  soil- 
moisture.  On  these  considerations,  alone,  lucern 
should  prove  itself  a  crop  well  suited  for  dry-farming. 
In  fact,  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  where  condi- 
tions are  favorable,  lucern  may  be  made  to  yield 
profitable  crops  under  a  rainfall  between  twelve  and 
fifteen  inches.  Alfalfa  prefers  calcareous  loamy 
soils;  sandy  and  heavy  clay  soils  are  not  so  well 
adapted  for  successful  alfalfa  production.  Under 
dry-farm  conditions  the  utmost  care  must  be  used 
to  prevent  too  thick  seeding.  The  vast  majority  of 
alfalfa  failures  on  dry-farms  have  resulted  from  an 


248  DRY-FARMING 

insufficient  supply  of  moisture  for  the  thickly  planted 
crop.  The  alfalfa  field  does  not  attain  its  maturity 
until  after  the  second  year,  and  a  crop  which  looks 
j  ust  right  the  second  year  will  probably  be  much  too 
thick  the  third  and  fourth  years.  From  four  to  six 
pounds  of  seed  per  acre  are  usually  ample.  Another 
main  cause  of  failure  is  the  common  idea  that  the 
lucern  field  needs  little  or  no  cultivation,  when,  in 
fact,  the  alfalfa  field  should  receive  as  careful  soil 
treatment  as  the  wheat  field.  Heavy,  thorough 
disking  in  spring  or  fall,  or  both,  is  advisable,  for  it 
leaves  the  topsoil  in  a  condition  to  prevent  evapora- 
tion and  admit  air.  In  Asiatic  and  North  African 
countries,  lucern  is  frequently  cultivated  between 
rows  throughout  the  hot  season.  This  has  been  tried 
by  Brand  in  this  country  and  with  very  good  results. 
Since  the  crop  should  always  be  sown  with  a  drill,  it 
is  comparatively  easy  to  regulate  the  distance  between 
the  rows  so  that  cultivating  implements  may  be  used. 
If  thinseeding  and  thorough  soil  stirring  are  practiced, 
lucern  usually  grows  well,  and  with  such  treatment 
should  become  one  of  the  great  dry-farm  crops.  The 
yield  of  hay  is  not  large,  but  sufficient  to  leave  a  com- 
fortable margin  of  profit.  Many  farmers  find  it  more 
profitable  to  grow  dry-farm  lucern  for  seed.  In  good 
years  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  may 
be  taken  from  an  acre  of  lucern  seed.  However,  at 
the  present,  the  principles  of  lucern  seed  production 
are  not  well  established,  and  the  seed  crop  is  uncertain. 


PEAS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  249 

Alfalfa  is  a  leguminous  crop  and  gathers  nitrogen 
from  the  air.  It  is  therefore  a  good  fertilizer.  The 
question  of  soil  fertility  will  become  more  important 
with  the  passing  of  the  years,  and  the  value  of  lucern 
as  a  land  improver  will  then  be  more  evident  than  it 
is  to-day. 

Other  leguminous  crops 

The  group  of  leguminous  or  pod-bearing  crops  is  of 
great  importance ;  first,  because  it  is  rich  in  nitroge- 
nous substances  which  are  valuable  animal  foods,  and, 
secondly,  because  it  has  the  power  of  gathering  ni- 
trogen from  the  air,  which  can  be  used  for  maintain- 
ing the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Dry-farming  will  not  be 
a  wholly  safe  practice  of  agriculture  until  suitable 
leguminous  crops  are  found  and  made  part  of  the 
crop  system.  It  is  notable  that  over  the  whole  of  the 
dry-farm  territory  of  this  and  other  countries  wild 
leguminous  plants  flourish.  That  is,  nitrogen-gather- 
ing plants  are  at  work  on  the  deserts.  The  farmer 
upsets  this  natural  order  of  things  by  cropping  the 
land  with  wheat  and  wheat  only,  so  long  as  the  land 
will  produce  profitably.  The  leguminous  plants 
native  to  dry-farm  areas  have  not  as  yet  been  sub- 
jected to  extensive  economic  study,  and  in  truth  very 
little  is  known  concerning  leguminous  plants  adapted 
to  dry-farming. 

In  California,  Colorado,  and  other  dry-farm  states 
the  field  pea  has  been  grown  with  great  profit.     In- 


250 


DRY-FARMING 


deed  it  has  been  found  much  more  profitable  than 
wheat  production.  The  field  bean,  likewise,  has 
been  grown  successfully  under  dry-farm  conditions, 


Fig.  59.     Dry-farm  sixty-day  oat  field.     Choteau,  Montana.     Yield,  105 
bushels  per  acre. 

under  a  great  variety  of  climates.  In  Mexico  and 
other  southern  climates,  the  native  population  pro- 
duce large  quantities  of  beans  upon  their  dry  lands. 


WOODY   PLANTS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  251 

Shaw  suggests  that  sanfoin,  long  famous  for  its  service 
to  European  agriculture,  may  be  found  to  be  a  prof- 
itable dry-farm  crop,  and  that  sand  vetch  promises 
to  become  an  excellent  dry-farm  crop.  It  is  very 
likely,  however,  that  many  of  the  leguminous  crops 
which  have  been  developed  under  conditions  of  abun- 
dant rainfall  will  be  valueless  on  dry-farm  lands. 
Every  year  will  furnish  new  and  more  complete  in- 
formation on  this  subject.  Leguminous  plants  will 
surely  become  important  members  of  the  association 
of  dry-farm  crops. 

Trees  and  shrubs 

So  far,  trees  cannot  be  said  to  be  dry-farm  crops, 
though  facts  are  on  record  that  indicate  that  by  the 
application  of  correct  dry-farm  principles  trees  may 
be  made  to  grow  and  yield  profitably  on  dry-farm 
lands.  Of  course,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  native 
trees  of  various  kinds  are  occasionally  found  growing 
on  the  deserts,  where  the  rainfall  is  very  light  and  the 
soil  has  been  given  no  care.  Examples  of  such  vege- 
tation are  the  native  cedars  found  throughout  the 
Great  Basin  region  and  the  mesquite  tree  in  Arizona 
and  the  Southwest.  Few  farmers  in  the  arid  region 
have  as  yet  undertaken  tree  culture  without  the  aid 
of  irrigation. 

At  least  one  peach  orchard  is  known  in  Utah  which 
grows  under  a  rainfall  of  about  fifteen  inches  without 


252  DRY-FARMING 

irrigation  and  produces  regularly  a  small  crop  of  most 
delicious  fruit.  Parsons  describes  his  Colorado  dry- 
farm  orchard  in  which,  under  a  rainfall  of  about 
fourteen  inches,  he  grows,  with  great  profit,  cherries, 
plums,  and  apples.  A  number  of  prospering  young 
orchards  are  growing  without  irrigation  in  the  Great 
Plains  area.  Mason  discovered  a  few  years  ago  two 
olive  orchards  in  Arizona  and  the  Colorado  desert 
which,  planted  about  fourteen  years  previously,  were 
thriving  under  an  annual  rainfall  of  eight  and  a 
half  and  four  and  a  half  inches,  respectively.  These 
olive  orchards  had  been  set  out  under  canals  which 
later  failed.  Such  attested  facts  lead  to  the  thought 
that  trees  may  yet  take  their  place  as  dry-farm  crops. 
This  hope  is  strengthened  when  it  is  recalled  that  the 
great  nations  of  antiquity,  living  in  countries  of  low 
rainfall,  grew  profitably  and  without  irrigation  many 
valuable  trees,  some  of  which  are  still  cultivated  in 
those  countries.  The  olive  industry,  for  example,  is 
even  now  being  successfully  developed  by  modern 
methods  in  Asiatic  and  African  sections,  where  the 
average  annual  rainfall  is  under  ten  inches.  Since 
1881,  under  French  management,  the  dry-farm  olive 
trees  around  Tunis  have  increased  from  45,000  to 
400,000  individuals.  Mason  and  also  Aaronsohn 
suggest  as  trees  that  do  well  in  the  arid  parts  of  the 
old  world  the  so-called  " Chinese  date"  or  Jujube 
tree,  the  sycamore  fig,  and  the  Carob  tree,  which 
yields  the  "St.  John's  Bread"  so  dear  to  childhood. 


TREES    FOR   DRY-FARMING  253 

Of  this  last  tree  Aaronsohn  says  that  twenty  trees  to 
the  acre,  under  a  rainfall  of  twelve  inches,  will  pro- 
duce 8000  pounds  of  fruit  containing  40  per  cent  of 
sugar  and  7  to  8  per  cent  of  protein.  This  sur- 
passes the  best  harvest  of  alfalfa.  Kearnley,  who 
has  made  a  special  study  of  dry-land  olive  culture  in 
northern  Africa,  states  that  in  his  belief  a  large  va- 
riety of  fruit  trees  may  be  found  which  will  do  well 
under  arid  and  semiarid  conditions,  and  may  even 
yield  more  profit  than  the  grains. 

It  is  also  said  that  many  shade  .and  ornamental 
and  other  useful  plants  can  be  grown  on  dry-farms ; 
as,  for  instance,  locust,  elm,  black  walnut,  silver  poplar, 
catalpa,  live  oak,  black  oak,  yellow  pine,  red  spruce, 
Douglas  fir,  and  cedar. 

The  secret  of  success  in  tree  growing  on  dry-farms 
seems  to  lie,  first,  in  planting  a  few  trees  per  acre,  — ■ 
the  distance  apart  should  be  twice  the  ordinary  dis- 
tance, —  and,  secondly,  in  applying  vigon  rnsly  and 
unceasingly  the  established  principles  of  soil  cultiva- 
tion. In  a  soil  stored  deeply  with  moisture  and 
properly  cultivated,  most  plants  will  grow.  If  the 
soil  has  not  been  carefully  fallowed  before  planting,  it 
may  be  necessary  to  water  the  young  trees  slightly 
during  the  first  two  seasons. 

Small  fruits  have  been  tried  on  many  farms  with 
great  success.  Plums,  currants,  and  gooseberries 
have  all  been  successful.  Grapes  grow  and  yield  well 
in  many  dry-farm  districts,  especially  along  the  warm 
foothills  of  the  Great  Basin. 


254  DRY-FARMING 

Tree  growing  on  dry-farm  lands  is  not  yet  well 
established  and,  therefore,  should  be  undertaken 
with  great  care.  Varieties  accustomed  to  the  climatic 
environment  should  be  chosen,  and  the  principles 
outlined  in  the  preceding  pages  should  be  carefully 
used. 

Potatoes 

In  recent  years,  potatoes  have  become  one  of  the 
best  dry-farm  crops.  Almost  wherever  tried  on  lands 
under  a  rainfall  of  twelve  inches  or  more  potatoes 
have  given  comparatively  large  yields.  To-day,  the 
growing  of  dry-farm  potatoes  is  becoming  an  impor- 
tant industry.  The  principles  of  light  seeding  and 
thorough  cultivation  are  indispensable  for  success. 
Potatoes  are  well  adapted  for  use  in  rotations,  where 
summer  fallowing  is  not  thought  desirable.  Mac- 
donald  enumerates  the  following  as  the  best  varieties 
at  present  used  on  dry-farms:  Ohio,  Mammoth, 
Pearl,  Rural  New  Yorker,  and  Burbank. 

Miscellaneous 

A  further  list  of  dry-farm  crops  would  include  rep- 
resentatives of  nearly  all  economic  plants,  most  of 
them  tried  in  small  quantity  in  various  localities. 
Sugar  beets,  vegetables,  bulbous  plants,  etc.,  have 
all  been  grown  without  irrigation  under  dry-farm 
conditions.    Some  of  these  will  no  doubt  be  found 


CROPS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  255 


Fig.  60.     Ears  of  dry-farm  corn.     Montana. 


256  DRY-FARMING 

to  be  profitable  and  will  then  be  brought  into  the 
commercial  scheme  of  dry-farming. 

Meanwhile,  the  crop  problems  of  dry-farming  de- 
mand that  much  careful  work  be  done  in  the  im- 
mediate future  by  the  agencies  having  such  work  in 
charge.  The  best  varieties  of  crops  already  in  prof- 
itable use  need  to  be  determined.  More  new  plants 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  need  to  be  brought  to  this 
new  dry-farm  territory  and  tried  out.  Many  of  the 
native  plants  need  examination  with  a  view  to  their 
economic  use.  For  instance,  the  sego  lily  bulbs,  upon 
which  the  Utah  pioneers  subsisted  for  several  seasons 
of  famine,  may  possibly  be  made  a  cultivated  crop, 
finally,  it  remains  to  be  said  that  it  is  doubtful  wis- 
dom to  attempt  to  grow  the  more  intensive  crops  on 
dry-farms.  Irrigation  and  dry-farming  will  always 
go  together.  They  are  supplementary  systems  of 
agriculture  in  arid  and  semiarid  regions.  On  the 
irrigated  lands  should  be  grown  the  crops  that  require 
much  labor  per  acre  and  that  in  return  yield  largely 
per  acre.  New  crops  and  varieties  should  besought 
for  the  irrigated  farms.  On  the  dry-farms  should  be 
grown  the  crops  that  can  be  handled  in  a  large  way 
and  at  a  small  cost  per  acre,  and  that  yield  only 
moderate  acre  returns.  By  such  cooperation  between 
irrigation  and  dry-farming  will  the  regions  of  the 
world  with  a  scanty  rainfall  become  the  healthiest, 
wealthiest,  happiest,  and  most  populous  on  earth. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    COMPOSITION   OF   DRY-FARM   CROPS 

The  acre-yields  of  crops  on  dry-farms,  even  under 
the  most  favorable  methods  of  culture,  are  likely  to  be 
much  smaller  than  in  humid  sections  with  fertile  soils. 
The  necessity  for  frequent  fallowing  or  resting  periods 
over  a  large  portion  of  the  dry-farm  territory  further 
decreases  the  average  annual  yield.  It  does  not  fol- 
low from  this  condition  that  dry-farming  is  less  prof- 
itable than  humid-  or  irrigation-farming,  for  it  has 
been  fully  demonstrated  that  the  profit  on  the  invest- 
ment is  as  high  under  proper  dry-farming  as  under 
any  other  similar  generally  adopted  system  of  farming 
in  any  part  of  the  world.  Yet  the  practice  of  dry- 
farming  would  appear  to  be,  and  indeed  would  be, 
much  more  desirable  could  the  crop  yield  be  in- 
creased. The  discovery  of  any  condition  which  will 
offset  the  small  annual  yields  is,  therefore,  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  advancement  of  dry-farm- 
ing. The  recognition  of  the  superior  quality  of 
practically  all  crops  grown  without  irrigation  under 
a  limited  rainfall  has  done  much  to  stimulate  faith 
in  the  great  profitableness  of  dry-farming.  As  the 
varying  nature  of  the  materials  used  by  man  for  food, 

s  257 


258  DRY-FARMING 

clothing,  and  shelter  has  become  more  clearly  under- 
stood, more  attention  has  been  given  to  the  valuation 
of  commercial  products  on  the  basis  of  quality  as  well 
as  of  quantity.  Sugar  beets,  for  instance,  are  bought 
by  the  sugar  factories  under  a  guarantee  of  a  mini- 
mum sugar  content;  and  many  factories  of  Europe 
vary  the  price  paid  according  to  the  sugar  contained 
by  the  beets.  The  millers,  especially  in  certain  parts 
of  the  country  where  wheat  has  deteriorated,  dis- 
tinguish carefully  between  the  flour-producing  quali- 
ties of  wheats  from  various  sections  and  fix  the  price 
accordingly.  Even  in  the  household,  information 
concerning  the  real  nutritive  value  of  various  foods  is 
being  sought  eagerly,  and  foods  known  to  possess  the 
highest  value  in  the  maintenance  of  life  are  displacing, 
even  at  a  higher  cost,  the  inferior  products.  The 
quality  valuation  is,  in  fact,  being  extended  as 
rapidly  as  the  growth  of  knowledge  will  permit  to  the 
chief  food  materials  of  commerce.  As  this  practice 
becomes  fixed  the  dry -farmer  will  be  able  to  command 
the  best  market  prices  for  his  products,  for  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  from  the  point  of  view  of  quality, 
dry-farm  food  products  may  be  placed  safely  in  com- 
petition with  any  farm  products  on  the  markets  of  the 
world. 

Proportion  of  plant  parts 

It  need  hardly  be  said,  after  the  discussions  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  that  the  nature  of  plant  growth 


Fig.  61.  Heads  of  macaroni  wheat.  1,  Kubanka.  2,  Nicaragua.  3, 
Velvet  Don.  4,  Black  Don.  5,  Wild  Goose.  These  are  among  the 
best  drouth-resistant  spring  wheats. 


260  DRY-FARMING 

is  deeply  modified  by  the  arid  conditions  prevailing 
in  dry-farming.  This  shows  itself  first  in  the  propor- 
tion of  the  various  plant  parts,  such  as  roots,  stems, 
leaves,  and  seeds.  The  root  systems  of  dry-farm 
crops  are  generally  greatly  developed,  and  it  is  a  com- 
mon observation  that  in  adverse  seasons  the  plants 
that  possess  the  largest  and  most  vigorous  roots  en- 
dure best  the  drouth  and  burning  heat.  The  first 
function  of  the  leaves  is  to  gather  materials  for  the 
building  and  strengthening  of  the  roots,  and  only  after 
this  has  been  done  do  the  stems  lengthen  and  the 
leaves  thicken.  Usually,  the  short  season  is  largely 
gone  before  the  stem  and  leaf  growth  begins,  and, 
consequently,  a  somewhat  dwarfed  appearance  is 
characteristic  of  dry-farm  crops.  The  size  of  sugar 
beets,  potato  tubers,  and  such  underground  parts 
depends  upon  the  available  water  and  food  supply 
when  the  plant  has  established  a  satisfactory  root 
and  leaf  system.  If  the  water  and  food  are  scarce, 
a  thin  beet  results ;  if  abundant,  a  well-filled  beet  may 
result. 

Dry-farming  is  characterized  by  a  somewhat  short 
season.  Even  if  good  growing  weather  prevails,  the 
decrease  of  water  in  the  soil  has  the  effect  of  hastening 
maturity.  The  formation  of  flowers  and  seed  begins, 
therefore,  earlier  and  is  completed  more  quickly  under 
arid  than  under  humid  conditions.  Moreover,  and 
resulting  probably  from  the  greater  abundance  of 
materials  stored  in  the  root  system,  the  proportion 


PROPORTION   OF   GRAIN   TO   STRAW  261 

of  heads  to  leaves  and  stems  is  highest  in  dry -farm 
crops.  In  fact,  it  is  a  general  law  that  the  proportion 
of  heads  to  straw  in  grain  crops  increases  as  the  water 
supply  decreases.  This  is  shown  very  well  even 
under  humid  or  irrigation  conditions  when  different 
seasons  or  different  applications  of  irrigation  water 
are  compared.  For  instance,  Hall  quotes  from  the 
Rothamsted  experiments  to  the  effect  that  in  1879, 
which  was  a  wet  year  (41  inches),  the  wheat  crop 
yielded  38  pounds  of  grain  for  every  100  pounds  of 
straw;  whereas,  in  1893,  which  was  a  dry  year  (23 
inches),  the  wheat  crop  yielded  95  pounds  of  grain  to 
every  100  pounds  of  straw.  The  Utah  station  like- 
wise has  established  the  same  law  under  arid  condi- 
tions. In  one  series  of  experiments  it  was  shown  as 
an  average  of  three  years'  trial  that  a  field  which  had 
received  22.5  inches  of  irrigation  water  produced  a 
wheat  crop  that  gave  67  pounds  of  grain  to  every 
100  pounds  of  straw;  while  another  field  which  re- 
ceived only  7.5  inches  of  irrigation  water  produced  a 
crop  that  gave  100  pounds  of  grain  for  every  100 
pounds  of  straw.  Since  wheat  is  grown  essentially 
for  the  grain,  such  a  variation  is  of  tremendous  impor- 
tance. The  amount  of  available  water  affects  every 
part  of  the  plant.  Thus,  as  an  illustration,  Carleton 
states  that  the  per  cent  of  meat  in  oats  grown  in  Wis- 
consin under  humid  conditions  was  67.24,  while  in 
North  Dakota,  Kansas,  and  Montana,  under  arid  and 
semiarid  conditions,  it  was  71.51.     Similar  varia- 


262  DRY-FARMING 

tions  of  plant  parts  may  be  observed  as  a  direct  result 
of  varying  the  amount  of  available  water.  In  general, 
then;  it  may  be  said  that  the  roots  of  dry-farm  crops 
are  well  developed ;  the  parts  above  ground  some- 
what dwarfed;  the  proportion  of  seed  to  straw  high, 
and  the  proportion  of  meat  or  nutritive  materials  in 
the  plant  parts  likewise  high. 

The  water  in  dry-farm  crops 

One  of  the  constant  constituents  of  all  plants  and 
plant  parts  is  water.  Hay,  flour,  and  starch  contain 
comparatively  large  quantities  of  water,  which  can  be 
removed  only  by  heat.  The  water  in  green  plants  is 
often  very  large.  In  young  lucern,  for  instance,  it 
reaches  So  per  cent,  and  in  young  peas  nearly  90 
per  cent,  or  more  than  is  found  in  good  cow's  milk. 
The  water  so  held  by  plants  has  no  nutritive  value 
above  ordinary  water.  It  is,  therefore,  profitable  for 
the  consumer  to  buy  dry  foods.  In  this  particular, 
again,  dry-farm  crops  have  a  distinct  advantage. 
During  growth  there  is  not  perhaps  a  great  difference 
in  the  water  content  of  plants,  due  to  climatic  dif- 
ferences, but  after  harvest  the  drying-out  process 
goes  on  much  more  completely  in  dry-farm  than  in 
humid  districts.  Hay,  cured  in  humid  regions,  often 
contains  from  12  to  20  per  cent  of  water;  in  arid 
climates  it  contains  as  little  as  5  per  cent  and  seldom 
more  than  12  per  cent.    The  drier  hay  is  naturally 


WATER   CONTENT   OF   DRY-FARM    CROPS         263 

more  valuable  pound  for  pound  than  the  moister  hay, 
and  a  difference  in  price,  based  upon  the  difference 
in  water  content,  is  already  being  felt  in  certain  sec- 
tions of  the  West. 

The  moisture  content  of  dry-farm  wheat,  the  chief 
dry-farm  crop,  is  even  more  important.  According 
to  Wiley  the  average  water  content  of  wheat  for  the 
United  States  is  10.62  per  cent,  ranging  from  15  to  7 
per  cent.  Stewart  and  Greaves  examined  a  large 
number  of  wheats  grown  on  the  dry-farms  of  Utah 
and  found  that  the  average  per  cent  of  water  in  the 
common  bread  varieties  was  8.46  and  in  the  durum 
varieties  8.89.  This  means  that  the  Utah  dry-farm 
wheats  transported  to  ordinary  humid  conditions 
would  take  up  enough  water  from  the  air  to  increase 
their  weight  one  fortieth,  or  2 \  per  cent,  before  they 
reached  the  average  water  content  of  American  wheats. 
In  other  words,  1,000,000  bushels  of  Utah  dry-farm 
wheat  contain  as  much  nutritive  matter  as  1,025,000 
bushels  of  wheat  grown  and  kept  under  humid  con- 
ditions. This  difference  should  be  and  now  is  recog- 
nized in  the  prices  paid.  In  fact,  shrewd  dealers, 
acquainted  with  the  dryness  of  dry-farm  wheat,  have 
for  some  years  bought  wheat  from  the  dry-farms  at  a 
slightly  increased  price,  and  trusted  to  the  increase 
in  weight  due  to  water  absorption  in  more  humid 
climates  for  their  profits.  The  time  should  be  near 
at  hand  when  grains  and  similar  products  should  be 
purchased  upon  the  basis  of  a  moisture  test. 


264  DRY-FARMING 

While  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  dry-farm  crops 
are  naturally  drier  than  those  of  humid  countries, 
yet  it  must  also  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  driest  dry- 
farm  crops  are  always  obtained  where  the  summers 
are  hot  and  rainless.  In  sections  where  the  precipi- 
tation comes  chiefly  in  the  spring  and  summer  the 
difference  would  not  be  so  great.  Therefore,  the 
crops  raised  on  the  Great  Plains  would  not  be  so  dry 
as  those  raised  in  California  or  in  the  Great  Basin. 
Yet,  wherever  the  annual  rainfall  is  so  small  as  to 
establish  dry-farm  conditions,  whether  it  comes  in 
the  winter  or  summer,  the  cured  crops  are  drier  than 
those  produced  under  conditions  of  a  much  higher 
rainfall,  and  dry  farmers  should  insist  that,  so  far  as 
possible  in  the  future,  sales  be  based  on  dry  matter. 

The  nutritive  substances  in  crops 

The  dry  matter  of  all  plants  and  plant  parts  con- 
sists of  three  very  distinct  classes  of  substances: 
First,  ash  or  the  mineral  constituents.  Ash  is  used 
by  the  body  in  building  bones  and  in  supplying  the 
blood  with  compounds  essential  to  the  various  life 
processes.  Second,  protein  or  the  substances  con- 
taining the  element  nitrogen.  Protein  is  used  by 
the  body  in  making  blood,  muscle,  tendons,  hair,  and 
nails,  and  under  certain  conditions  it  is  burned  within 
the  bod}'  for  the  production  of  heat.  Protein  is 
perhaps  the  most  important  food  constit  uent.     Third, 


Fig .62.  Heads  of  hard  winter  wheats.  1,  Turkey  (Crimean).  2,  Odessa 
White  Chaff.  3,  Odessa  Red  Chaff.  4,  Roumanian  White  Chaff. 
6,  Khrakor.     6.  Ulta. 


266 


DRY-FARMING 


non-nitrogenous  substances,  including  fats,  woody- 
fiber,  and  nitrogen-free  extract,  a  name  given  to  the 
group  of  sugars,  starches,  and  related  substances. 
These  substances  are  used  by  the  body  in  the  pro- 
duction of  fat,  and  are  also  burned  for  the  production 


Fig.  63.      Dry-farm  Milo  maize.     Rosebud  Co.,  Montana. 

of  heat.  Of  these  valuable  food  constituents  protein 
is  probably  the  most  important,  first,  because  it 
forms  the  most  important  tissues  of  the  body  and, 
secondly,  because  it  is  less  abundant  than  the  fats, 
starches,  and  sugars.  Indeed,  plants  rich  in  protein 
nearly  always  command  the  highest  prices. 

The  composition  of  any  class  of  plants  varies  con- 
siderably in  different  localities  and  in  different  sea- 


VARIATIONS   IN    COMPOSITION 


267 


sons.  This  may  be  due  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  or 
to  the  fertilizer  applied,  though  variations  in  plant 
composition  resulting  from  soil  conditions  are  com- 
paratively small.  The  greater  variations  arc  almost 
wholly  the  result  of  varying  climate  and  water  supply. 
As  far  as  it  is  now  known  the  strongest  single  factor 
in  changing  the  composition  of  plants  is  the  amount 
of  water  available  to  the  growing  plant. 

Variations  due  to  varying  water  supply 

The  Utah  station  has  conducted  numerous  ex- 
periments upon  the  effect  of  water  upon  plant  com- 
position. The  method  in  every  case  has  been  to 
apply  different  amounts  of  water  throughout  the 
growing  season  on  contiguous  plats  of  uniform  land. 
Some  of  the  early  results  are  shown  by  the  following 
table :  — 

The  Effect  of  Water   on   the  Percentage  Composition 
of  Plant  Parts 


Inches 
of 

Water 
Applied 


Ash 


Protein 


Fat 


Corn  Kernels 


Fiber 


Xitrogen- 

free 
Extract 


7.5 

1.62 

15.08 

6.02 

1.89 

75.39 

15.0 

1.65 

13.48 

6.16 

1.91 

76.86 

37.3 

1.62 

12.52 

6.26 

1.89 

77.72 

268 


DRY-FARMING 


The   Effect  of  Water  ox  the  Percentage  Composition 
of   Plant   Parts  —  Continued 


Inches 

of 
Water 
Applied 


7.0 
13.2 
30.0 


4.6 
10.3 
21.1 


7.5 

15.0 
30.5 


8.0 
15.0 
40.0 


Ash 


3.26 
4.52 

4.49 


2.70 
2.54 
2.50 


1.17 
2.76 
2.99 


6.68 
4.85 

4.87 


Protein 


Fat 


Fiber 


Oat  Kernels 


20.79 
17.29 
15.49 


3.91 
4.19 
4.59 


Wheat  Kernels 


26.72 
19.93 
16.99 


2.37 
2.09 
1.97 


Pea  Kernels 


31.16 
28.37 
21.29 


1.70 
0.87 
1.16 


Potato  Tubers 


11.83 

12.52 

8.33 


0.55 
0.33 
0.79 


Sugar  Beets 


9.02 
10.76 
10.92 


5.44 
4.47 
3.92 


7.88 
7.14 
6.78 


2.69 
2.21 
2.06 


XlTROG  EN- 
FREE 

Extract 


63.02 
63.25 
64.51 


62.77 
70.97 
74.62 


58.09 
60.84 
67.78 


78.25 
80.08 
83.95 


12.3 

4.76 

9.68 

0.29 

5.37 

79.91 

21.0 

4.98 

7.50 

0.18 

6.02 

81.32 

40.8 

4.69 

5.63 

0.45 

5.68 

83.55 

WATER   INFLUENCES   COMPOSITION  269 

Even  a  casual  study  of  this  table  shows  that  the 
quantity  of  water  used  influenced  the  composition  of 
the  plant  parts.  The  ash  and  the  fiber  do  not  appear 
to  be  greatly  influenced,  but  the  other  constituents 
vary  with  considerable  regularity  with  the  variations 
in  the  amount  of  irrigation  water.  The  protein  shows 
the  greatest  variation.  As  the  irrigation  water  is 
increased,  the  percentage  of  protein  decreases.  In 
the  case  of  wheat  the  variation  was  over  9  per  cent. 
The  percentage  of  fat  and  nitrogen-free  extract,  on  the 
other  hand,  becomes  larger  as  the  water  increases. 
That  is,  crops  grown  with  little  water,  as  in  dry-farm- 
ing, are  rich  in  the  important  flesh-  and  blood-forming 
substance  protein,  and  comparatively  poor  in  fat, 
sugar,  starch,  and  other  of  the  more  abundant  heat- 
and  fat-producing  substances.  This  difference  is  of 
tremendous  importance  in  placing  dry-farm  products 
on  the  food  markets  of  the  world.  Not  only  seeds, 
tubers,  and  roots  show  this  variation,  but  the  stems 
and  leaves  of  plants  grown  with  little  water  are  found 
to  contain  a  higher  percentage  of  protein  than  those 
grown  in  more  humid  climates. 

The  direct  effect  of  water  upon  the  composition  of 
plants  has  been  observed  by  many  students.  For 
instance,  Mayer,  working  in  Holland,  found  that,  in  a 
soil  containing  throughout  the  season  10  per  cent  of 
water,  oats  was  produced  containing  10.6  per  cent 
of  protein;  in  soil  containing  30  per  cent  of  water, 
the  protein  percentage  was  only  5.6  per  cent,  and  in 


270 


DRY-FARMING 


soil  containing  70  per  cent  of  water,  it  was  only  5.2 
per  cent.     Carleton,  in  a  study  of  analyses  of  the 


Yield,  1.4  tons  per  acre. 


same  varieties  of  wheat  grown  in  humid  and  semi- 
arid  districts  of  the  United  States,  found  that  the 
percentage  of  protein  in  wheat  from  the  semiarid 
area  was  14.4  per  cent  as  against  11.94  per  cent  in  the 


CLIMATE   AND    COMPOSITION  271 

wheat  from  the  humid  area.  The  average  protein 
content  of  the  wheat  of  the  United  States  is  a  little 
more  than  12  per  cent ;  Stewart  and  Greaves  found  an 
average  of  16.76  per  cent  of  protein  in  Utah  dry-farm 
wheats  of  the  common  bread  varieties  and  17.14  per 
cent  in  the  durum  varieties.  The  experiments  con- 
ducted at  Rothamsted,  England,  as  given  by  Hall, 
confirm  these  results.  For  example,  during  1893,  a 
very  dry  year,  barley  kernels  contained  12.99  per 
cent  of  protein,  while  in  1894,  a  wet,  though  free- 
growing  year,  the  barley  contained  only  9.81  per  cent 
of  protein.  Quotations  might  be  multiplied  con- 
firming the  principle  that  crops  grown  with  lit t le 
water  contain  much  protein  and  little  heat-  and  fat- 
producing  substances. 

Climate  and  composition 

The  general  climate,  especially  as  regards  the  length 
of  the  growing  season  and  naturally  including  the 
water  supply,  has  a  strong  effect  upon  the  composi- 
tion of  plants.  Carleton  observed  that  the  same 
varieties  of  wheat  grown  at  Nephi,  Utah,  contained 
16.61  per  cent  protein;  at  Amarillo,  Texas,  15.25  per 
cent;  and  at  McPherson,  Kansas,  a  humid  station, 
13.04  per  cent.  This  variation  is  undoubtedly  due 
in  part  to  the  varying  annual  precipitation  but,  also, 
and  in  large  part,  to  the  varying  general  climatic 
conditions  at  the  three  stations. 


272 


DRY-FARMING 


An  extremely  interesting  and  important  experi- 
ment, showing  the  effect  of  locality  upon  the  com- 
position of  wheat  kernels,  is  reported  by  LeClerc  and 
Leavitt.  Wheat  grown  in  1905  in  Kansas  was 
planted  in  1906  in  Kansas,  California,  and  Texas.  In 
1907  samples  of  the  seeds  grown  at  these  three  points 
were  planted  side  by  side  at  each  of  the  three  states. 
All  the  crops  from  the  three  localities  were  analyzed 
separately  each  year.  Some  of  the  results  of  this 
experiment  are  shown  in  the  following  table:  — 

Effect  of  Locality  on  Composition  of  Crimean  Wheat 


Determination 


Protein      .     .     . 
Weight  per  bushel 
(lbs.).     •     •    • 
Flinty  (per  cent) 


Protein  .... 
Weight  per  bushel 

(lbs.)  .... 
Flinty  (per  cent) 


Grown  in  Kansas 


Grown  in  California 


Grown  in  Texas 


Original  Seed,  Kansas,  1905 
16.22 


56.50 
98.00 


1906  Crop  from  Kansas  Seed  of  1905 


19.13 


58.8 
100.0 


10.38 


59.4 
36.0 


12.18 
58.9 


1907  Crop  from  Seed  of  1906 


From 
Kan- 
sas 


From 

Cali- 
fornia 


From 
Texas 


Kan- 


Cali- 
fornia 


Texas 


Kan- 
sas 


Cali- 
fornia 


Texas 


Protein      .     . 
Weight  per 

bushel  (lbs.) 
Flinty  .     .     . 


22.23 


51.3 
100.0 


22.23 


51.3 
100.0 


22.81 


50.7 
100.0 


11.00 


61.3 
50.0 


11.33 


61.8 
60.0 


11.37 


62.3 
50.0 


16.97 


58.5 
98.0 


18.22 


57.3 
100.0 


18.21 


58.6 
95.0 


LOCALITY  AND    COMPOSITION  273 

The  results  are  striking  and  convincing.  The  origi- 
nal seed  grown  in  Kansas  in  1905  contained  16.22  per 
cent  of  protein.  The  1906  crop  grown  from  this 
seed  in  Kansas  contained  19.13  per  cent  protein;  in 
California,  10.38  percent ;  and  in  Texas,  12.18per cent, 
In  1907  the  crop  harvested  in  Kansas  from  the  1906 
seed  from  these  widely  separated  places  and  of  very 
different  composition  contained  uniformly  some- 
what more  than  22  per  cent  of  protein ;  harvested  in 
California,  somewhat  more  than  11  per  cent;  and 
harvested  in  Texas,  about  18  per  cent.  In  short, 
the  composition  of  wheat  kernels  is  independent  of  the 
composition  of  the  seed  or  the  nature  of  the  soil,  but 
depends  primarily  upon  the  prevailing  climatic  con- 
ditions, including  the  water  supply.  The  weight  of 
the  wheat  per  bushel,  that  is,  the  average  size  and 
weight  of  the  wheat  kernel,  and  also  the  hardness  or 
flinty  character  of  the  kernels,  were  strongly  affected 
by  the  varying  climatic  conditions.  It  is  generally 
true  that  dry-farm  grain  weighs  more  per  bushel  than 
grain  grown  under  humid  conditions ;  hardness  usu- 
ally accompanies  a  high  protein  content  and  is  there- 
fore characteristic  of  dry-farm  wheat.  These  notable 
lessons  teach  the  futility  of  bringing  in  new  seed 
from  far  distant  places  in  the  hope  that  better  and 
larger  crops  may  be  secured.  The  conditions  under 
which  growth  occurs  determine  chiefly  the  nature  of 
the  crop.  It  is  a  common  experience  in  the  West 
that  farmers  who  do  not  understand  this  principle 


274  DRY-FARMING 

send  to  the  Middle  West  for  seed  corn,  with  the  result 
that  great  crops  of  stalks  and  leaves  with  no  ears  are 
obtained.  The  only  safe  rule  for  the  dry-farmer  to 
follow  is  to  use  seed  which  has  been  grown  for  many 
years  under  dry-farm  conditions. 

A  reason  for  variation  in  composition 

It  is  possible  to  suggest  a  reason  for  the  high  pro- 
tein content  of  dry-farm  crops.  It  is  well  known 
that  all  plants  secure  most  of  their  nitrogen  early  in 


Fig.  65.     Dry-farm  rye.     Montana,  1909.     Yield,  33  bushels  per  acre. 

the  growing  period.  From  the  nitrogen,  protein  is 
formed,  and  all  young  plants  are,  therefore,  very  rich 
in  protein.  As  the  plant  becomes  older,  little  more 
protein  is  added,  but  more  and  more  carbon  is  taken 
from  the  air  to  form  the  fats,  starches,  sugars,  and 
other    non-nitrogenous    substances.     Consequently, 


VARIATION   IN   COMPOSITION  275 

the  proportion  or  percentage  of  protein  becomes 
smaller  as  the  plant  becomes  older.  The  impelling 
purpose  of  the  plant  is  to  produce  seed.  Whenever 
the  water  supply  begins  to  give  out,  or  the  season 
shortens  in  any  other  way,  the  plant  immediately 
begins  to  ripen.  Now,  the  essential  effect  of  dry- 
farm  conditions  is  to  shorten  the  season;  the  com- 
paratively young  plants,  yet  rich  in  protein,  begin  to 
produce  seed;  and  at  harvest,  seed,  and  leaves,  and 
stalks  are  rich  in  the  flesh-  and  blood-forming  element 
of  plants.  In  more  humid  countries  plants  delay 
the  time  of  seed  production  and  thus  enable  the  plants 
to  store  up  more  carbon  and  thus  reduce  the  percent 
of  protein.  The  short  growing  season,  induced  by 
the  shortness  of  water,  is  undoubtedly  the  main  reason 
for  the  higher  protein  content  and  consequently 
higher  nutritive  value  of  all  dry-farm  crops. 

Nutritive  value  of  dry-farm  hay,  straw,  and  flour 

All  the  parts  of  dry-farm  crops  are  highly  nutri- 
tious. This  needs  to  be  more  clearly  understood  by 
the  dry-farmers.  Dry-farm  hay,  for  instance,  be- 
cause of  its  high  protein  content,  may  be  fed  with 
crops  not  so  rich  in  this  element,  thereby  making 
a  larger  profit  for  the  farmer.  Dry-farm  straw  often 
has  the  feeding  value  of  good  hay,  as  has  been  dem- 
onstrated by  analyses  and  by  feeding  tests  con- 
ducted in  times  of  hay  scarcity.     Especially  is  the 


276  DRY-FARMING 

header  straw  of  high  feeding  value,  for  it  represents 
the  upper  and  more  nutritious  ends  of  the  stalks. 
Dry-farm  straw,  therefore,  should  be  carefully  kept 
and  fed  to  animals  instead  of  being  scattered  over  the 
ground  or  even  burned  as  is  too  often  the  case.  Only 
few  feeding  experiments  having  in  view  the  relative 
feeding  value  of  dry-farm  crops  have  as  yet  been 
made,  but  the  few  on  record  agree  in  showing  the 
superior  value  of  dry-farm  crops,  whether  fed  singly 
or  in  combination. 

The  differences  in  the  chemical  composition  of 
plants  and  plant  products  induced  by  differences  in 
the  water-supply  and  climatic  environment  appear 
in  the  manufactured  products,  such  as  flour,  bran, 
and  shorts.  Flour  made  from  Fife  wheat  grown  on 
the  dry-farms  of  Utah  contained  practically  16  per 
cent  of  protein,  while  flour  made  from  Fife  wheat 
grown  in  Maine  and  the  Middle  West  is  reported  by 
the  Maine  Station  as  containing  from  13.03  to  13.75 
per  cent  of  protein.  Flour  made  from  Blue  Stem 
wheat  grown  on  the  Utah  dry-farms  contained  15.52 
per  cent  of  protein ;  from  the  same  variety  grown  in 
Maine  and  in  the  Middle  West  11.69  and  11.51  per 
cent  of  protein  respectively."  The  moist  and  dry 
gluten,  the  gliadin  and  the  glutenin,  all  of  which 
make  possible  the  best  and  most  nourishing  kinds 
of  bread,  are  present  in  largest  quantity  and  best 
proportion  in  flours  made  from  wheats  grown  under 
typical  dry-farm  conditions.      The   by-products  of 


THE    COMPOSITION   OF   DRY-FARM   CROPS         277 

the  milling  process,  likewise,  are  rich   in   nutritive 
elements. 

Future  Needs 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  there  is  a 
growing  tendency  to  purchase  food  materials  on 
the  basis  of  composition.  New  discoveries  in  the 
domains  of  plant  composition  and  animal  nutrition 
and  the  improved  methods  of  rapid  and  accurate 
valuation  will  accelerate  this  tendency.  Even  now, 
manufacturers  of  food  products  print  on  cartons 
and  in  advertising  matter  quality  reasons  for  the 
superior  food  values  of  certain  articles.  At  least 
one  firm  produces  two  parallel  sets  of  its  manufac- 
tured foods,  one  for  the  man  who  does  hard  physical 
labor,  and  the  other  for  the  brain  worker.  Quality, 
as  related  to  the  needs  of  the  body,  whether  of  beast 
or  man,  is  rapidly  becoming  the  first  question  in 
judging  any  food  material.  The  present  era  of  high 
prices  makes  this  matter  even  more  important. 

In  view  of  this  condition  and  tendency,  the  fact 
that  dry-farm  products  are  unusually  rich  in  the 
most  valuable  nutritive  materials  is  of  tremendous 
importance  to  the  development  of  dry-farming.  The 
small  average  yields  of  dry-farm  crops  do  not  look  so 
small  when  it  is  known  that  they  command  higher 
prices  per  pound  in  competition  with  the  larger 
crops  of  more  humid  climates.  More  elaborate 
investigations  should  be  undertaken  to  determine 


Fig.  66.     Dry-farm  oats.     New  Mexico. 


THE    COMPOSITION    OF   DRY-FARM    CROPS         279 

the  quality  of  crops  grown  in  different  dry-farm 
districts.  As  far  as  possible  each  section,  great  or 
small,  should  confine  itself  to  the  growing  of  a 
variety  of  each  crop  yielding  well  and  possessing 
the  highest  nutritive  value.  In  that  manner  each 
section  of  the  great  dry-farm  territory  would  soon 
come  to  stand  for  some  dependable  special  quality 
that  would  compel  a  first-class  market.  Further, 
the  superior  feeding  value  of  dry-farm  products 
should  be  thoroughly  advertised  among  the  con- 
sumers in  order  to  create  a  demand  on  the  markets 
for  a  quality  valuation.  A  few  years  of  such  sys- 
tematic honest  work  would  do  much  to  improve 
the  financial  basis  of  dry-farming. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MAINTAINING   THE   SOIL  FERTILITY 

All  plants  when  carefully  burned  leave  a  portion 
of  ash,  ranging  widely  in  quantity,  averaging  about 
5  per  cent,  and  often  exceeding  10  per  cent  of  the 
dry  weight  of  the  plant.  This  plant  ash  represents 
inorganic  substances  taken  from  the  soil  by  the 
roots.  In  addition,  the  nitrogen  of  plants,  averaging 
about  2  per  cent  and  often  amounting  to  4  per  cent, 
which,  in  burning,  passes  off  in  gaseous  form,  is  also 
usually  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  plant  roots.  A 
comparatively  large  quantity  of  the  plant  is.  there- 
fore, drawn  directly  from  the  soil.  Among  the  ash 
ingredients  are  many  which  are  taken  up  by  the 
plant  simply  because  they  are  present  in  the  soil; 
others,  on  the  other  hand,  as  has  been  shown  by 
numerous  classical  investigations,  are  indispensable 
to  plant  growth.  If  any  one  of  these  indispensable 
ash  ingredients  be  absent,  it  is  impossible  for  a  plant 
to  mature  on  such  a  soil.  In  fact,  it  is  pretty  well 
established  that,  providing  the  physical  conditions 
and  the  water  supply  are  satisfactory,  the  fertility 
of  a  soil  depends  largely  upon  the  amount  of  avail- 
able ash  ingredients,  or  plant-food. 

280 


282  DRY-FARMING 

A  clear  distinction  must  be  made  between  the 
total  and  available  plant-food.  The  essential  plant- 
foods  often  occur  in  insoluble  combinations,  value- 
less to  plants;  only  the  plant-foods  that  are  soluble 
in  the  soil-water  or  in  the  juices  of  plant  roots  are 
of  value  to  plants.  It  is  true  that  practically  all 
soils  contain  all  the  indispensable  plant-foods;  it 
is  also  true,  however,  that  in  most  soils  they  are 
present,  as  available  plant-foods,  in  comparatively 
small  quantities.  When  crops  are  removed  from 
the  land  year  after  year,  without  any  return  being 
made,  it  naturally  follows  that  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions the  amount  of  available  plant-food  is  dimin- 
ished, with  a  strong  probability  of  a  corresponding 
diminution  in  crop-producing  power.  In  fact,  the 
soils  of  many  of  the  older  countries  have  been  per- 
manently injured  by  continuous  cropping,  with 
nothing  returned,  practiced  through  centuries.  Even 
in  many  of  the  younger  states,  continuous  cropping 
to  wheat  or  other  crops  for  a  generation  or  less  has 
resulted  in  a  large  decrease  in  the  crop  yield. 

Practice  and  experiment  have  shown  that  such 
diminishing  fertility  may  be  retarded  or  wholly 
avoided,  first,  by  so  working  or  cultivating  the  soil 
as  to  set  free  much  of  the  insoluble  plant-food  and, 
secondly,  by  returning  to  the  soil  all  or  part  of  the 
plant-food  taken  away.  The  recent  development 
of  the  commercial  fertilizer  industry  is  a  response  to 
this  truth.     It  may  be  said  that,  so  far  as  the  agri- 


AVAILABLE    FOOD    SUPPLY  283 

cultural  soils  of  the  world  are  now  known,  only  three 
of  the  essential  plant-foods  are  likely  to  be  absent, 
namely,  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen;  of 
these,  by  far  the  most  important  is  nitrogen.  The 
whole  question  of  maintaining  the  supply  of  plant- 
foods  in  the  soil  concerns  itself  in  the  main  with  the 
supply  of  these  three  substances. 

The  persistent  fertility  of  dry-farms 

In  recent  years,  numerous  farmers  and  some 
investigators  have  stated  that  under  dry-farm  condi- 
tions the  fertility  of  soils  is  not  impaired  by  cropping 
without  manuring.  This  view  has  been  taken  be- 
cause of  the  well-known  fact  that  in  localities  where 
dry-farming  has  been  practiced  on  the  same  soils 
from  twenty-five  to  forty-five  years,  without  the 
addition  of  manures,  the  average  crop  yield  has  not 
only  failed  to  diminish,  but  in  most  cases  has  in- 
creased. In  fact,  it  is  the  almost  unanimous  testi- 
mony of  the  oldest  dry-farmers  of  the  United  States, 
operating  under  a  rainfall  from  twelve  to  twenty 
inches,  that  the  crop  yields  have  increased  as  the 
cultural  methods  have  been  perfected.  If  any 
adverse  effect  of  the  steady  removal  of  plant-foods 
has  occurred,  it  has  been  wholly  overshadowed  by 
other  factors.  The  older  dry-farms  in  Utah,  for 
instance,  which  are  among  the  oldest  of  the  country, 
have  never  been  manured,  yet  are  yielding  better 


284  DRY-FARMING 

to-day  than  they  did  a  generation  ago.  Strangely 
enough,  this  is  not  true  of  the  irrigated  farms,  operat- 
ing under  like  soil  and  climatic  conditions.  This 
behavior  of  crop  production  under  dry-farm  condi- 
tions has  led  to  the  belief  that  the  question  of  soil- 
fertility  is  not  an  important  one  to  dry-farmers. 
Nevertheless,  if  our  present  theories  of  plant  nutri- 
tion are  correct,  it  is  also  true  that,  if  continuous 
cropping  is  practiced  on  our  dry-farm  soils  without 
some  form  of  manuring,  the  time  must  come  when 
the  productive  power  of  the  soils  will  be  injured  and 
the  only  recourse  of  the  farmer  will  be  to  return  to  the 
soils  some  of  the  plant-food  taken  from  it. 

The  view  that  soil  fertility  is  not  diminished  by 
dry-farming  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  strengthened 
by  the  results  obtained  by  investigators  who  have 
made  determinations  of  the  actual  plant-food  in 
soils  that  have  long  been  dry-farmed.  The  sparsely 
settled  condition  of  the  d^-farm  territory  furnishes 
as  yet  an  excellent  opportunity  to  compare  virgin 
and  dry-farmed  lands  and  which  frequently  may  be 
found  side  by  side  in  even  the  older  dry-farm  sections. 
Stewart  found  that  Utah  dry-farm  soils,  cultivated 
for  fifteen  to  forty  years  and  never  manured,  were 
in  many  cases  richer  in  nitrogen  than  neighboring 
virgin  lands.  Bradley  found  that  the  soils  of  the 
great  dry-farm  wheat  belt  of  Eastern  Oregon  con- 
tained, after  having  been  farmed  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  practically  as  much  nitrogen  as  the  adjoin- 


FERTILITY   OF   DRY-FARM    LANDS 


285 


ing  virgin  lands.  The  determinations  were  made 
to  a  depth  of  eighteen  inches.  Alway  and  Trumbull, 
on  the  other  hand,  found  in  a  soil  from  Indian  Head, 
Saskatchewan,  that  in  twenty-five  years  of  cultiva- 
tion the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  had  been  reduced 


Fig.  68.     Dry-farm  white  hull-less  barley.     Choteau,  Montana,  1909. 
Yield,  48  bushels  per  acre. 

about  one  third,  though  the  alternation  of  fallow 
and  crop,  commonly  practiced  in  dry-farming,  did 
not  show  a  greater  loss  of  soil  nitrogen  than  other 
methods  of  cultivation.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  soil  of  Indian  Head  contains  from  two  to 
three  times  as  much  nitrogen  as  is  ordinarily  found 


286  DRY-FARMING 

in  the  soils  of  the  Great  Plains  and  from  three  to  four 
times  as  much  as  is  found  in  the  soils  of  the  Great 
Basin  and  the  High  Plateaus.  It  may  be  assumed, 
therefore,  that  the  Indian  Head  soil  was  peculiarly 
liable  to  nitrogen  losses.  Headden,  in  an  investi- 
gation of  the  nitrogen  content  of  Colorado  soils, 
has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  arid  conditions,  like 
those  of  Colorado,  favor  the  direct  accumulation 
of  nitrogen  in  soils.  All  in  all,  the  undiminished 
crop  yield  and  the  composition  of  the  cultivated 
fields  lead  to  the  belief  that  soil-fertility  problems 
under  dry-farm  conditions  are  widely  different  from 
the  old  well-known  problems  under  humid  conditions. 

Reasons  for  dry-farming  fertility 

It  is  not  really  difficult  to  understand  why  the 
yields  and,  apparently,  the  fertility  of  dry-farms 
have  continued  to  increase  during  the  period  of  re- 
corded dry-farm  history  —  nearly  half  a  century. 

First,  the  intrinsic  fertility  of  arid  as  compared  with 
humid  soils  is  very  high.  (See  Chapter  V.)  The 
production  and  removal  of  many  successive  bountiful 
crops  would  not  have  as  marked  an  effect  on  arid  as 
on  humid  soils,  for  both  yield  and  composition  change 
more  slowly  on  fertile  soils.  The  natural  extraordi- 
narily high  fertility  of  dry-farm  soils  explains,  there- 
fore, primarily  and  chiefly,  the  increasing  yields  on 
dry-farm  soils  that  receive  proper  cultivation. 


THE  FERTILITY  OF  THE  DRY  LANDS      287 

The  intrinsic  fertility  of  arid  soils  is  not  alone 
sufficient  to  explain  the  increase  in  plant-food  which 
undoubtedly  occurs  in  the  upper  foot  or  two  of 
cultivated  dry-farm  lands.  In  seeking  a  suitable 
explanation  of  this  phenomenon  it  must  be  recalled 
that  the  proportion  of  available  plant-food  in  arid 
soils  is  very  uniform  to  great  depths,  and  that  plants 
grown  under  proper  dry-farm  conditions  are  deep 
rooted  and  gather  much  nourishment  from  the  lower 
soil  layers.  As  a  consequence,  the  drain  of  a  heavy 
crop  does  not  fall  upon  the  upper  few  feet  as  is 
usually  the  case  in  humid  soils.  The  dry-farmer  has 
several  farms,  one  upon  the  other,  which  permit 
even  improper  methods  of  farming  to  go  on  longer 
than  would  be  the  case  on  shallower  soils. 

The  great  depth  of  arid  soils  further  permits  the 
storage  of  rain  and  snow  water,  as  has  been  explained 
in  previous  chapters,  to  depths  of  from  ten  to  fifteen 
feet.  As  the  growing  season  proceeds,  this  water  is 
gradually  drawn  towards  the  surface,  and  with  it 
much  of  the  plant-food  dissolved  by  the  water  in 
the  lower  soil  layers.  This  process  repeated  year 
after  year  results  in  a  concentration  in  the  upper  soil- 
layers  of  fertility  normally  distributed  in  the  soil  to 
the  full  depth  reach  by  the  soil-moisture.  At  certain 
seasons,  especially  in  the  fall,  this  concentration  may 
be  detected  with  greatest  certainty.  In  general, 
the  same  action  occurs  in  virgin  lands,  but  the  meth- 
ods of  dry-farm  cultivation  and  cropping  which  per- 


288  DRY-FARMING 

niit  a  deeper  penetration  of  the  natural  precipitation 
and  a  freer  movement  of  the  soil-water  result  in  a 
larger  quantity  of  plant-food  reaching  the  upper 
two  or  three  feet  from  the  lower  soil  depths.  Such 
concentration  near  the  surface,  when  it  is  not  exces- 
sive, favors  the  production  of  increased  yields  of 
crops. 

The  characteristic  high  fertility  and  great  depth 
of  arid  soils  are  probably  the  two  main  factors 
explaining  the  apparent  increase  of  the  fertility  of 
dry-farms  under  a  system  of  agriculture  which  does 
not  include  the  practice  of  manuring.  Yet,  there 
are  other  conditions  that  contribute  largely  to  the 
result.  For  instance,  every  cultural  method  accepted 
in  dry -farming,  such  as  deep  plowing,  fallowing,  and 
frequent  cultivation,  enables  the  weathering  forces 
to  act  upon  the  soil  particles.  Especially  is  it  made 
easy  for  the  air  to  enter  the  soil.  Under  such  condi- 
tions, the  plant-food  unavailable  to  plants  because 
of  its  insoluble  condition  is  liberated  and  made  avail- 
able. The  practice  of  dry-farming  is  of  itself  more 
conducive  to  such  accumulation  of  available  plant- 
food  than  are  the  methods  of  humid  agriculture. 

Further,  the  annual  yield  of  any  crop  under  con- 
ditions of  dry-farming  is  smaller  than  under  condi- 
tions of  high  rainfall.  Less  fertility  is,  therefore, 
removed  by  each  crop  and  a  given  amount  of  avail- 
able fertility  is  sufficient  to  produce  a  large  number 
of  crops  without  showing  signs  of  deficiency.    The 


YIELD    OF   DRY-FARM    CROPS 


289 


comparatively  small  annual  yield  of  dry-farm  crops 
is  emphasized  in 
view  of  the  common 
practice  of  summer 
fallowing,  which 
means  that  the  land 
is  cropped  only  every 
other  year  or  possi- 
bly two  years  out  of 
three.  Under  such 
conditions  the  yield 
in  any  one  year  is 
cut  in  two  to  give  an 
annual  yield. 

The  use  of  the 
header  wherever 
possible  in  harvest- 
ing dry-farm  grain 
also  aids  materially 
in  maintaining  soil- 
fertility.  By  means 
of  the  header  only 
the  heads  of  the 
grain  are  clipped  off ; 
the  stalks  are  left 
standing.  In  the 
fall,  usually,  this 
stubble  is  plowed 
under  and  gradually  decays.      In  the  earlier  dry- 


290  DRY-FARMING 

farm  days  farmers  feared  that  under  conditions 
of  low  rainfall,  the  stubble  or  straw  plowed  under 
would  not  decay,  but  would  leave  the  soil  in  a  loose 
dry  condition  unfavorable  for  the  growth  of  plants. 
During  the  last  fifteen  years  it  has  been  abundantly 
demonstrated  that  if  the  correct  methods  of  dry 
farming  are  followed,  so  that  a  fair  balance  of  water 
is  always  found  in  the  soil,  even  in  the  fall,  the  heavy, 
thick  header  stubble  may  be  plowed  into  the  soil 
with  the  certainty  that  it  will  decay  and  thus  enrich 
the  soil.  The  header  stubble  contains  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  nitrogen  that  the  crop  has  taken 
from  the  soil  and  more  than  half  of  the  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid.  Plowing  under  the  header  stubble 
returns  all  this  material  to  the  soil.  Moreover,  the 
bulk  of  the  stubble  is  carbon  taken  from  the  air. 
This  decays,  forming  various  acid  substances  which 
act  on  the  soil  grains  to  set  free  the  fertility  which 
they  contain.  At  the  end  of  the  process  of  decay 
humus  is  formed,  which  is  not  only  a  storehouse  of 
plant-food,  but  effective  in  maintaining  a  good 
physical  condition  of  the  soil.  The  introduction  of 
the  header  in  dry- farming  was  one  of  the  big  steps 
in  making  the  practice  certain  and  profitable. 

Finally,  it  must  be  admitted  that  there  are  a  great 
many  more  or  less  poorly  understood  or  unknown 
forces  at  work  in  all  soils  which  aid  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  soil-fertility.  Chief  among  these  are  the  low 
forms  of  life  known  as  bacteria.     Many  of  these, 


BACTERIA   AND   SOIL   FERTILITY  291 

under  favorable  conditions,  appear  to  have  the  power 
of  liberating  food  from  the  insoluble  soil  grains. 
Others  have  the  power  when  settled  on  the  roots 
of  leguminous  or  pod-bearing  plants  to  fix  nitrogen 
from  the  air  and  convert  it  into  a  form  suitable  for 
the  need  of  plants.  In  recent  years  it  has  been  found 
that  other  forms  of  bacteria,  the  best  known  of  which 
is  azotobacter,  have  the  power  of  gathering  nitrogen 
from  the  air  and  combining  it  for  the  plant  needs 
without  the  presence  of  leguminous  plants.  These 
nitrogen-gathering  bacteria  utilize  for  their  life  pro- 
cesses the  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  such  as  the 
decaying  header  stubble,  and  at  the  same  time 
enrich  the  soil  by  the  addition  of  combined  nitrogen. 
Now,  it  so  happens  that  these  important  bacteria 
require  a  soil  somewhat  rich  in  lime,  well  aerated  and 
fairly  dry  and  warm.  These  conditions  are  all 
met  on  the  vast  majority  of  our  dry-farm  soils,  under 
the  system  of  culture  outlined  in  this  volume.  Hall 
maintains  that  to  the  activity  of  these  bacteria 
must  be  ascribed  the  large  quantities  of  nitrogen 
found  in  many  virgin  soils  and  probably  the  final 
explanation  of  the  steady  nitrogen  supply  for  dry 
farms  is  to  be  found  in  the  work  of  the  azotobacter 
and  related  forms  of  low  life,  The  potash  and  phos- 
phoric acid  supply  can  probably  be  maintained  for 
ages  by  proper  methods  of  cultivation,  though  the 
phosphoric  acid  will  become  exhausted  long  before 
the  potash.    The  nitrogen  supply,  however,  must 


292  DRY-FARMING 

come  from  without.  The  nitrogen  question  will 
undoubtedly  soon  be  the  leading  one  before  the 
students  of  dry-farm  fertility.  A  liberal  supply  of 
organic  matter  in  the  soil  with  cultural  methods 
favoring  the  growth  of  the  nitrogen-gathering  bac- 
teria appears  at  present  to  be  the  first  solution  of  the 
nitrogen  question.  Meanwhile,  the  activity  of  the 
nitrogen-gathering  bacteria,  like  azotobacter,  is  one 
of  our  best  explanations  of  the  large  presence  of 
nitrogen  in  cultivated  dry-farm  soils. 

To  summarize,  the  apparent  increase  in  produc- 
tivity and  plant-food  content  of  dry-farm  soils  can 
best  be  explained  by  a  consideration  of  these  factors : 

(1)  The  intrinsically  high  fertility  of  the  arid  soils; 

(2)  the  deep  feeding  ground  for  the  deep  root  systems 
of  dry-farm  crops ;  (3)  the  concentration  of  the  plant 
food  distributed  throughout  the  soil  by  the  upward 
movement  of  the  natural  precipitation  stored  in  the 
soil ;  (4)  the  cultural  methods  of  dry-farming  which 
enable  the  weathering  agencies  to  liberate  freely  and 
vigorously  the  plant-food  of  the  soil  grains;  (5)  the 
small  annual  crops;  (6)  the  plowing  under  of  the 
header  straw,  and  (7)  the  activity  of  bacteria  that 
gather  nitrogen  directly  from  the  air. 

Methods  of  conserving  soil-fertility 

In  view  of  the  comparatively  small  annual  crops 
that  characterize  dry-farming  it  is  not  wholly  im- 


MAINTAINING   THE   SOIL   FERTILITY  293 

possible  that  the  factors  above  discussed,  if  properly 
applied,  could  liberate  the  latent  plant-food  of  the 
soil  and  gather  all  necessary  nitrogen  for  the  plants. 
Such  an  equilibrium,  could  it  once  be  established, 
would  possibly  continue  for  long  periods  of  time,  but 
in  the  end  would  no  doubt  lead  to  disaster;  for, 
unless  the  very  cornerstone  of  modern  agricultural 
science  is  unsound,  there  will  be  ultimately  a  dimi- 
nution of  crop  producing  power  if  continuous  crop- 
ping is  practiced  without  returning  to  the  soil  a  goodly 
portion  of  the  elements  of  soil  fertility  taken  from  it. 
The  real  purpose  of  modern  agricultural  research  is 
to  maintain  or  increase  the  productivity  of  our  lands ; 
if  this  cannot  be  done,  modern  agriculture  is  essen- 
tially a  failure.  Dry-farming,  as  the  newest  and 
probably  in  the  future  one  of  the  greatest  divisions 
of  modern  agriculture,  must  from  the  beginning 
seek  and  apply  processes  that  will  insure  steadiness 
in  the  productive  power  of  its  lands.  Therefore, 
from  the  very  beginning  dry-farmers  must  look 
towards  the  conservation  of  the  fertility  of  their 
soils. 

The  first  and  most  rational  method  of  maintaining 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  indefinitely  is  to  return  to  the 
soil  everything  that  is  taken  from  it.  In  practice 
this  can  be  done  only  by  feeding  the  products  of  the 
farm  to  live  stock  and  returning  to  the  soil  the  ma- 
nure, both  solid  and  liquid,  produced  by  the  animals. 
This  brings  up  at  once  the  much  discussed  question 


294 


DRY-FARMING 


of  the  relation  between  the  live  stock  industry  and 
dry-farming.  While  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  no 
system  of  agriculture  will  be  wholly  satisfactory 
to  the  farmer  and  truly  beneficial  to  the  state,  unless 


Fig.  70.     Dry-farm  beardless  barley.     New  Mexico,  1909. 

it  is  connected  definitely  with  the  production  of 
live  stock,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  present 
prevailing  dry-farm  conditions  do  not  always  favor 
comfortable  animal  life.     For  instance,  over  a  large 


CONSERVING   THE    SOIL    FERTILITY  295 

portion  of  the  central  area  of  the  dry-farm  territory 
the  dry-farms  are  at  considerable  distances  from 
running  or  well  water.  In  many  cases,  water  is 
hauled  eight  or  ten  miles  for  the  supply  of  the  men 
and  horses  engaged  in  farming.  Moreover,  in  these 
drier  districts,  only  certain  crops,  carefully  culti- 
vated, will  yield  profitably,  and  the  pasture  and  the 
kitchen  garden  are  practical  impossibilities  from 
an  economic  point  of  view.  Such  conditions,  though 
profitable  dry-farming  is  feasible,  preclude  the 
existence  of  the  home  and  the  barn  on  or  even  near 
the  farm.  When  feed  must  be  hauled  many  miles, 
the  profits  of  the  live  stock  industry  are  materially 
reduced  and  the  dry-farmer  usually  prefers  to  grow 
a  crop  of  wheat,  the  straw  of  which  may  be  plowed 
under  the  soil  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  follow- 
ing crop.  In  dry-farm  districts  where  the  rainfall 
is  higher  or  better  distributed,  or  where  the  ground 
water  is  near  the  surface,  there  should  be  no  reason 
why  dry-farming  and  live  stock  should  not  go  hand 
in  hand.  Wherever  water  is  within  reach,  the  home- 
stead is  also  possible.  The  recent  development  of 
the  gasoline  motor  for  pumping  purposes  makes 
possible  a  small  home  garden  wherever  a  little  water 
is  available.  The  lack  of  water  for  culinary  purposes 
is  really  the  problem  that  has  stood  between  the 
joint  development  of  dry-farming  and  the  live  stock 
industry.  The  whole  matter,  however,  looks  much 
more  favorable  to-day,  for  the  efforts  of  the  Federal 


296  DRY-FARMING 

and  state  governments  have  succeeded  in  discovering 
numerous  subterranean  sources  of  water  in  dry-farm 
districts.  In  addition,  the  development  of  small 
irrigation  systems  in  the  neighborhood  of  dry-farm 
districts  is  helping  the  cause  of  the  live  stock  industry. 
At  the  present  time,  dry-farming  and  the  live  stock 
industry  are  rather  far  apart,  though  undoubtedly 
as  the  desert  is  conquered  they  will  become  more 
closely  associated.  The  question  concerning  the 
best  maintenance  of  soil-fertility  remains  the  same; 
and  the  ideal  way  of  maintaining  fertility  is  to  return 
to  the  soil  as  much  as  is  possible  of  the  plant-food 
taken  from  it  by  the  crops,  which  can  best  be  accom- 
plished by  the  development  of  the  business  of  keep- 
ing live  stock  in  connection  with  dry-farming. 

If  live  stock  cannot  be  kept  on  a  dry-farm,  the 
most  direct  method  of  maintaining  soil-fertility  is 
by  the  application  of  commercial  fertilizers.  This 
practice  is  followed  extensively  in  the  Eastern  states 
and  in  Europe.  The  large  areas  of  dry-farms  and 
the  high  prices  of  commercial  fertilizers  will  make 
this  method  of  manuring  impracticable  on  dry-farms, 
and  it  may  be  dismissed  from  thought  until  such  a 
day  as  conditions,  especially  with  respect  to  price 
of  nitrates  and  potash,  are  materially  changed. 

Nitrogen,  which  is  the  most  important  plant-food 
that  may  be  absent  from  dry-farm  soils,  may  be 
secured  by  the  proper  use  of  leguminous  crops.  All 
the  pod-bearing  plants  commonly  cultivated,  such  as 


LEGUMINOUS   CROPS   AND    FERTILITY  297 

peas,  beans,  vetch,  clover,  and  lucern,  are  able  to 
secure  large  quantities  of  nitrogen  from  the  air 
through  the  activity  of  bacteria  that  live  and  grow 
on  the  roots  of  such  plants.  The  leguminous  crop 
should  be  sown  in  the  usual  way,  and  when  it  is  well 
past  the  flowering  stage  should  be  plowed  into  the 
ground.  Naturally,  annual  legumes,  such  as  peas 
and  beans,  should  be  used  for  this  purpose.  The 
crop  thus  plowed  under  contains  much  nitrogen, 
which  is  gradually  changed  into  a  form  suitable  for 
plant  assimilation.  In  addition,  the  acid  substances 
produced  in  the  decay  of  the  plants  tend  to  liberate 
the  insoluble  plant-foods  and  the  organic  matter  is 
finally  changed  into  humus.  In  order  to  maintain  a 
proper  supply  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  the  dry-farmer 
will  probably  soon  find  himself  obliged  to  grow,  every 
five  years  or  oftener,  a  crop  of  legumes  to  be  plowed 
under. 

Non-leguminous  crops  may  also  be  plowed  under 
for  the  purpose  of  adding  organic  matter  and  humus 
to  the  soil,  though  this  has  little  advantage  over  the 
present  method  of  heading  the  grain  and  plowing 
under  the  high  stubble.  The  header  system  should 
be  generally  adopted  on  wheat  dry-farms.  On 
farms  where  corn  is  the  chief  crop,  perhaps  more 
importance  needs  to  be  given  to  the  supply  of  organic 
matter  and  humus  than  on  wheat  farms.  The 
occasional  plowing  under  of  leguminous  crops  would 
be  the  most  satisfactory  method. 


298  DRY-FARMING 

The  persistent  application  of  the  proper  cultural 
methods  of  dry-farming  will  set  free  the  most  im- 
portant plant-foods,  and  on  well-cultivated  farms 
nitrogen  is  the  only  element  likely  to  be  absent  in 
serious  amounts. 

The  rotation  of  crops  on  dry- farms  is  usually 
advocated  in  districts  like  the  Great  Plains  area, 
where  the  annual  rainfall  is  over  fifteen  inches  and 
the  major  part  of  the  precipitation  comes  in  spring 
and  summer.  The  various  rotations  ordinarily 
include  one  or  more  crops  of  small  grains,  a  hoed 
crop  like  corn  or  potatoes,  a  leguminous  crop,  and 
sometimes  a  fallow  year.  The  leguminous  crop  is 
grown  to  secure  a  fresh  supply  of  nitrogen ;  the  hoed 
crop,  to  enable  the  air  and  sunshine  to  act  thoroughly 
on  the  soil  grains  and  to  liberate  plant-food,  such  as 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid ;  and  the  grain  crops  to 
take  up  plant-food  not  reached  by  the  root  systems 
of  the  other  plants.  The  subject  of  proper  rotation 
of  crops  has  always  been  a  difficult  one,  and  very 
little  information  exists  on  it  as  practiced  on  dry- 
farms.  Chilcott  has  done  considerable  work  on 
rotations  in  the  Great  Plains  district,  but  he  frankly 
admits  that  man}'  years  of  trial  will  be  necessary  for 
the  elucidation  of  trustworthy  principles.  Some  of 
the  best  rotations  found  by  Chilcott  up  to  the  present 
are:  — 

Corn  —  Wheat  —  Oats 
Barley  —  Oats  —  Corn 
Fallow  —  Wheat  —  Oats 


ROTATIONS   AND   SOIL   FERTILITY 


299 


Rosen  states  that  rotation  is  very  commonly  prac- 
ticed in  the  dry  sections  of  southern  Russia,  usually 
including  an  occasional  summer  fallow.  As  a  type 
of  an  eight-year  rotation  practiced  at  the  Poltava 


Fig.  71.     Dry-farm  corn.     Rosebud  Co.,  Montana,  1909.     Cut  for  for- 
age.    Yield,  9.4  tons  well-cured  fodder. 

Station,  the  following  is  given:  (1)  Summer  tilled 
and  manured;  (2)  winter  wheat;  (3)  hoed  crop; 
(4)  spring  wheat;  (5)  summer  fallow;  (6)  winter 
rye ;  (7)  buckwheat  or  an  annual  legume ;  (8)  oats. 
This  rotation,  it  may  be  observed,  includes  the  grain 
crop,  hoed  crop,  legume,  and  fallow  every  four  years. 
As  has  been  stated  elsewhere,  any  rotation  in  dry- 
farming  which  does  not  include  the  summer  fallow 


300  DRY-FARMING 

at  least  every  third  or  fourth  year  is  likely  to  be 
dangerous  in  years  of  deficient  rainfall. 

This  review  of  the  question  of  dry-farm  fertility 
is  intended  merely  as  a  forecast  of  coming  develop- 
ments. At  the  present  time  soil-fertility  is  not  giving 
the  dry-farmers  great  concern,  but  as  in  the  countries 
of  abundant  rainfall  the  time  will  come  when  it  will 
be  equal  to  that  of  water  conservation,  unless  indeed 
the  dry-farmers  heed  the  lessons  of  the  past  and  adopt 
from  the  start  proper  practices  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  plant-food  stored  in  the  soil.  The  principle 
explained  in  Chapter  IX,  that  the  amount  of  water 
required  for  the  production  of  one  pound  of  water 
diminishes  as  the  fertility  increases,  shows  the  inti- 
mate relationship  that  exists  between  the  soil-fer- 
tility and  the  soil-water  and  the  importance  of  main- 
taining dry-farm  soils  at  a  high  state  of  fertility. 


CHAPTER  XV 

IMPLEMENTS  FOR  DRY-FARMING 

Cheap  land  and  relatively  small  acre  yields 
characterize  dry-farming.  Consequently,  larger 
areas  must  be  farmed  for  a  given  return  than  in 
humid  farming,  and  the  successful  pursuit  of  dry- 
farming  compels  the  adoption  of  methods  that 
enable  a  man  to  do  the  largest  amount  of  effective 
work  with  the  smallest  expenditure  of  energy.  The 
careful  observations  made  by  Grace,  in  Utah,  lead  to 
the  belief  that,  under  the  conditions  prevailing 
in  the  intermountain  country,  one  man  with  four 
horses  and  a  sufficient  supply  of  machinery  can  farm 
163  acres,  half  of  which  is  summer-fallowed  every 
year;  and  one  man  may,  in  favorable  seasons  under 
a  carefully  planned  system,  farm  as  much  as  200 
acres.  If  one  man  attempts  to  handle  a  larger  farm, 
the  work  is  likely  to  be  done  in  so  slipshod  a  manner 
that  the  crop  yield  decreases  and  the  total  returns 
are  no  larger  than  if  200  acres  had  been  well  tilled. 

One  man  with  four  horses  would  be  unable  to 
handle  even  160  acres  were  it  not  for  the  posses- 
sion of  modern  machinery;  and  dry-farming,  more 
than  any  other  system  of  agriculture,  is  dependent 

301 


302  DRY-FARMING 

for  its  success  upon  the  use  of  proper  implements  of 
tillage.  In  fact,  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the  reclama- 
tion of  the  great  arid  and  semiarid  regions  of  the 
world  would  have  been  possible  a  few  decades  ago, 
before  the  invention  and  introduction  of  labor-sav- 
ing farm  machinery.  It  is  undoubtedly  further  a  fact 
that  the  future  of  dry-farming  is  closely  bound  up 
with  the  improvements  that  may  be  made  in  farm 
machinery.  Few  of  the  agricultural  implements  on 
the  market  to-day  have  been  made  primarily  for 
dry-farm  conditions.  The  best  that  the  dry-farmer 
can  do  is  to  adapt  the  implements  on  the  market 
to  his  special  needs.  Possibly  the  best  field  of  in- 
vestigation for  the  experiment  stations  and  inventive 
minds  in  the  arid  region  is  farm  mechanics  as  applied 
to  the  special  needs  of  dry-farming. 

Clearing  and  breaking 

A  large  portion  of  the  dry-farm  territory  of  the 
United  States  is  covered  with  sagebrush  and  related 
plants.  It  is  always  a  difficult  and  usually  an  ex- 
pensive problem  to  clear  sagebrush  land,  for  the 
shrubs  are  frequently  from  two  to  six  feet  high,  cor- 
respondingly deep-rooted,  with  very  tough  wood. 
When  the  soil  is  dry,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  pull 
out  sagebrush,  and  of  necessity  much  of  the  clearing 
must  be  done  during  the  dry  season.  Numerous 
devices  have  been  suggested  and  tried  for  the  purpose 


304  DRY-FARMING 

of  clearing  sagebrush  land.  One  of  the  oldest  and 
also  one  of  the  most  effective  devices  is  two  parallel 
railroad  rails  connected  with  heavy  iron  chains  and 
used  as  a  drag  over  the  sagebrush  land.  The  sage 
is  caught  by  the  two  rails  and  torn  out  of  the  ground. 
The  clearing  is  fairly  complete,  though  it  is  generally 
necessary  to  go  over  the  ground  two  or  three  times 
before  the  work  is  completed.  Even  after  such 
treatment  a  large  number  of  sagebrush  clumps, 
found  standing  over  the  field,  must  be  grubbed  up 
with  the  hoe.  Another  and  effective  device  is  the 
so-called  "mankiller."  This  implement  pulls  up  the 
sage  very  successfully  and  drops  it  at  certain  definite 
intervals.  It  is,  however,  a  very  dangerous  imple- 
ment and  frequently  results  in  injury  to  the  men 
who  work  it.  Of  recent  years  another  device  has 
been  tried  with  a  great  deal  of  success.  It  is  made 
like  a  snow  plow  of  heavy  railroad  irons  to  which 
a  number  of  large  steel  knives  have  been  bolted. 
Neither  of  these  implements  is  wholly  satisfactory, 
and  an  acceptable  machine  for  grubbing  sagebrush 
is  yet  to  be  devised.  In  view  of  the  large  expense 
attached  to  the  clearing  of  sagebrush  land  such  a 
machine  would  be  of  great  help  in  the  advancement 
of  dry-farming. 

Away  from  the  sagebrush  country  the  virgin  dry- 
farm  land  is  usually  covered  with  a  more  or  less  dense 
growth  of  grass,  though  true  sod  is  seldom  found 
under  dry-farm  conditions.     The  ordinary  breaking 


PLOWS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  305 

plow,  characterized  by  a  long  sloping  moldboard,  is 
the  best  known  implement  for  breaking  all  kinds  of 
sod.  (See  Fig.  75  a.)  Where  the  sod  is  very  light,  as 
on  the  far  western  prairies,  the  more  ordinary  forms 
of  plows  may  be  used.  In  still  other  sections,  the 
dry-farm  land  is  covered  with  a  scattered  growth  of 
trees,  frequently  pinion  pine  and  cedars,  and  in  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico  the  mesquite  tree  and  cacti  are 
to  be  removed.  Such  clearing  has  to  be  done  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  special  needs  of  the  locality. 

Plowing 

Plowing,  or  the  turning  over  of  the  soil  to  a  depth 
of  from  seven  to  ten  inches  for  every  crop,  is  a  funda- 
mental operation  of  dry-farming.     The  plow,  there- 


Fig.  73.     Parts  of  modern  plow. 

fore,  becomes  one  of  the  most  important  implements 
on  the  dry-farm.  Though  the  plow  as  an  agricul- 
tural implement  is  of  great  antiquity,  it  is  only  within 
the  last  one  hundred  years  that  it  has  attained  its 
present  perfection.     It  is  a  question  even  to-day,  in 


306  DRY-FARMING 

the  minds  of  a  great  many  students,  whether  the 
modern  plow  should  not  be  replaced  by  some  machine 
even  more  suitable  for  the  proper  turning  and  stirring 
of  the  soil.  The  moldboard  plow  is,  everything  con- 
sidered,  the   most   satisfactory  plow   for  dry-farm 


Fig.  74.     Sulky  plow. 

purposes.  A  plow  with  a  moldboard  possessing  a 
short  abrupt  curvature  is  generally  held  to  be  the 
most  valuable  for  dry-farm  purposes,  since  it  pul- 
verizes the  soil  most  thoroughly,  and  in  dry-farming 
it  is  not  so  important  to  turn  the  soil  over  as  to 
crumble  and  loosen  it  thoroughly.  The  various  plow 
bottoms  are  shown  in  Figure  75.  Naturally,  since 
the  areas  of  dry-farms  are  very  large,  the  sulky  or 
riding  plow  is  the  only  kind  to  be  used.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  all  other  dry-farm  implements.  As 
far  as  possible,  they  should  be  of  the  riding  kind, 
since  in  the  end  it  means  economy  from  the  resulting 
saving  of  energy.     (See  Fig.  74.) 


PLOWS    FOR   DRY-FARMING 


307 


The  disk  plow  has  recently  come  into  prominent 
use  throughout  the  land.  It  consists,  as  is  well 
known,  of  one  or  more  large  disks  which  are  believed 


Fig.  75.     Plow  bottoms. 

to  cause  a  smaller  draft,  as  they  cut  into  the  ground, 
than  the  draft  due  to  the  sliding  friction  upon  the 
moldboard.  Davidson  and  Chase  say,  however, 
that  the  draft  of  a  disk  plow  is  often  heavier  in  propor- 
tion to  the  work  done  and  the  plow  itself  is  more 


Fig.  76.     Plow  with  interchangeable  moldboard  and  share. 

clumsy  than  the  moldboard  plow.  For  ordinary  dry- 
farm  purposes  the  disk  plow  has  no  advantage  over 
the  modern  moldboard  plow.  Many  of  the  dry-farm 
soils  are  of  a  heavy  clay  and  become  very  sticky  dur- 
ing certain  seasons  of  the  year.  In  such  soils  the  disk 
plow  is  very  useful.     It  is  also  true  that  dry-farm 


308  DRY-FARMING 

soils,  subjected  to  the  intense  heat  of  the  western  sun, 
become  very  hard.  In  the  handling  of  such  soils  the 
disk  plow  has  been  found  to  be  most  useful.  The 
common  experience  of  dry-farmers  is  that  when 
sagebrush  lands  have  been  cleared,  the  first  plowing 
can  be  most  successfully  done  with  the  disk  plow,  but 


Fig.  77.     Disk  plow. 

that  after  the  first  crop  has  been  harvested,  the 
stubble  land  can  be  best  handled  with  the  moldboard 
plow.  All  this,  however,  is  yet  to  be  subjected  to 
further  tests.     (See  Fig.  77.) 

While  subsoiling  results  in  a  better  storage  reser- 
voir for  water  and  consequently  makes  dry-farming 
more  secure,  yet  the  high  cost  of  the  practice  will 
probably  never  make  it  popular.  Subsoiling  is  ac- 
complished in  two  ways :  either  by  an  ordinary  mold- 
board  plow  which  follows  the  plow  in  the  plow  fur- 
row and  thus  turns  the  soil  to  a  greater  depth,  or  by 
some  form  of  the  ordinary  subsoil  plow.     In  general, 


PLOWS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  309 

the  subsoil  plow  is  simply  a  vertical  piece  of  cutting 
iron,  down  to  a  depth  of  ten  to  eighteen  inches,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  is  fastened  a  triangular  piece  of  iron 
like  a  shovel,  which,  when  pulled  through  the  ground, 
tends  to  loosen  the  soil  to  the  full  depth  of  the  plow. 


Fig.  78.     Subsoil  plow. 

The  subsoil  plow  does  not  turn  the  soil;  it  simply 
loosens  the  soil  so  that  the  air  and  plant  roots  can 
penetrate  to  greater  depths.     (See  Fig.  78.) 

In  the  choice  of  plows  and  their  proper  use  the  dry- 
farmer  must  be  guided  wholly  by  the  conditions  under 
which  he  is  working.  It  is  impossible  at  the  present 
time  to  lay  down  definite  laws  stating  what  plows  are 
best  for  certain  soils.  The  soils  of  the  arid  region  are 
not  well  enough  known,  nor  has  the  relationship 
between  the  plow  and  the  soil  been  sufficiently  well 
established.  As  above  remarked,  here  is  one  of  the 
great  fields  for  investigation  for  both  scientific  and 
practical  men  for  years  to  come. 


310  DRY-FARMING 

Making  and  maintaining  a  soil-mulch 

After  the  land  has  been  so  well  plowed  that  the 
rains  can  enter  easily,  the  next  operation  of  impor- 
tance in  dry-farming  is  the  making  and  maintaining  of 
a  soil-mulch  over  the  ground  to  prevent  the  evapora- 
tion of  water  from  the  soil.     For  this  purpose  some 


Fig.  79.     Spike  tooth  harrow. 

form  of  harrow  is  most  commonly  used.  The  oldest 
and  best-known  harrow  is  the  ordinary  smoothing  har- 
row, which  is  composed  of  iron  or  steel  teeth  of  various 
shapes  set  in  a  suitable  frame.  (See  Fig.  79.)  For 
dry-farm  purposes  the  implement  must  be  so  made  as 
to  enable  the  farmer  to  set  the  harrow  teeth  to  slant 
backward  or  forward.  It  frequently  happens  that  in 
the  spring  the  grain  is  too  thick  for  the  moisture  in  the 
soil,  and  it  then  becomes  necessary  to  tear  out  some  of 
the  young  plants.  For  this  purpose  the  harrow  teeth 
are  set  straight  or  forward  and  the  crop  can  then  be 


HARROWS   FOR   DRY-FARMING 


311 


thinned  effectively.  At  other  times  it  may  be  observed 
in  the  spring  that  the  rains  and  winds  have  led  to 
the  formation  of  a  crust  over  the  soil,  which  must  be 
broken  to  let  the  plants  have  full  freedom  of  growth 
and  development.    This  is  accomplished  by  slanting 


Fig.  80.     Spring  tooth  harrow. 


the  harrow  teeth  backward,  and  the  crust  may  then 
be  broken  without  serious  injury  to  the  plants.  The 
smoothing  harrow  is  a  very  useful  implement  on  the 
dry-farm.  For  following  the  plow,  however,  a  more 
useful  implement  is  the  disk  harrow,  which  is  a  com- 
paratively recent  invention.  It  consists  of  a  series  of 
disks  which  may  be  set  at  various  angles  with  the  line 
of  traction  and  thus  be  made  to  turn  over  the  soil  while 
at  the  same  time  pulverizing  it.  (See  Fig.  81.)  The 
best  dry-farm  practice  is  to  plow  in  the  fall  and  let  the 
soil  lie  in  the  rough  during  the  winter  months.    In  the 


312 


DRY-FARMING 


spring  the  land  is  thoroughly  disked  and  reduced  to  a 
fine  condition.  Following  this  the  smoothing  harrow 
is  occasionally  used  to  form  a  more  perfect  mulch. 
When  seeding  is  to  be  done  immediately  after  plow- 
ing, the  plow  is  followed  by  the  disk  harrow,  and  that 
in  turn  is  followed  by  the  smoothing  harrow.  The 
ground  is  then  ready  for  seeding.    The  disk  harrow 


Fig.  81.     Disk  harrow. 


is  also  used  extensively  throughout  the  summer  in 
maintaining  a  proper  mulch.  It  does  its  work  more 
effectively  than  the  ordinary  smoothing  harrow  and 
is,  therefore,  rapidly  displacing  all  other  forms  of 
harrows  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  layer  of 
loose  soil  over  the  dry-farm.  There  are  several  kinds 
of  disk  harrows  used  by  dry-farmers.    The  full  disk 


HARROWS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  313 

is,  everything  considered,  the  most  useful.  The 
cutaway  harrow  is  often  used  in  cultivating  old  alfalfa 
land ;  the  spade  disk  harrow  has  a  very  limited  appli- 
cation in  dry-farming ;  and  the  orchard  disk  harrow  is 
simply  a  modification  of  the  full  disk  harrow  whereby 
the  farmer  is  able  to  travel  between  the  rows  of  trees 
and  so  to  cultivate  the  soil  under  the  branches  of 
the  trees  without  injuring  the  leaves  or  fruit. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  dry-farming  con- 
cerns itself  with  the  prevention  of  the  growth  of 
weeds  or  volunteer  crops.  As  has  been  explained  in 
previous  chapters,  weeds  require  as  much  water  for 
their  growth  as  wheat  or  other  useful  crops.  During 
the  fallow  season,  the  farmer  is  likely  to  be  overtaken 
by  the  weeds  and  lose  much  of  the  value  of  the  fallow 
by  losing  soil-moisture  through  the  growth  of  weeds. 
Under  the  most  favorable  conditions  weeds  are  dif- 
ficult to  handle.  The  disk  harrow  itself  is  not  effec- 
tive. The  smoothing  harrow  is  of  less  value.  There 
is  at  the  present  time  great  need  for  some  implement 
that  will  effectively  destroy  young  weeds  and  prevent 
their  further  growth.  Attempts  are  being  made  to 
invent  such  implements,  but  up  to  the  present  with- 
out great  success.  Hogenson  reports  the  finding  of  an 
implement  on  a  western  dry-farm  constructed  by  the 
farmer  himself  which  for  a  number  of  years  has  shown 
itself  of  high  efficiency  in  keeping  the  dry-farm  free 
from  weeds.  It  is  shown  in  Figure  87.  Several 
improved  modifications  of  this  implement  have  been 


314  DRY-FARMING 

made  and  tried  out  on  the  famous  dry-farm  district 
at  Nephi,  Utah,  and  with  the  greatest  success.  Hun- 
ter reports  a  similar  implement  in  common  use  on  the 
dry-farms  of  the  Columbia  Basin.  Spring  tooth  har- 
rows are  also  used  in  a  small  way  on  the  dry-farms. 


Fig.  82.     Riding  cultivator. 

They  have  no  special  advantage  over  the  smoothing 
harrow  or  the  disk  harrow,  except  in  places  where  the 
attempt  is  made  to  cultivate  the  soil  between  the 
rows  of  wheat.  The  curved  knife  tooth  harrow  is 
scarcely  ever  used  on  dry-farms.  It  has  some  value 
as  a  pulverizer,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  any  real 
advantage  over  the  ordinary  disk  harrow. 

Cultivators  for  stirring  the  land  on  which  crops  are 
gn  wing  are  not  used  extensively  on  dry-farms.  Usu- 
ally the  spring  tooth  harrow  is  employed  for  this 
work.  In  dry-farm  sections,  where  corn  is  grown, 
the   cultivator  is   frequently   used   throughout   the 


CULTIVATORS    FOR   DRY-FARMING  315 

season.  Potatoes  grown  on  dry-farms  should  be 
cultivated  throughout  the  season,  and  as  the  potato 
industry  grows  in  the  dry-farm  territory  there  will  be 
a  greater  demand  for  suitable  cultivators.  The  cul- 
tivators to  be  used  on  dry-farms  are  all  of  the  riding 
kind.  They  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  horse 
walking  between  two  rows  carries  a  cultivator  that 
straddles  several  rows  of  plants  and  cultivates  the  soil 
between.  Disks,  shovels,  or  spring  teeth  may  be  used 
on  cultivators.  There  is  a  great  variety  on  the  mar- 
ket, and  each  farmer  will  have  to  choose  such  as  meet 
most  definitely  his  needs. 

The  various  forms  of  harrows  and  cultivators  are  of 
the  greatest  importance  in  the  development  of  dry- 
farming.  Unless  a  proper  mulch  can  be  kept  over  the 
soil  during  the  fallow  season,  and  as  far  as  possible 
during  the  growing  season,  first-class  crops  cannot  be 
fully  expected. 

The  roller  is  occasionally  used  in  dry- farming,  es- 
pecially in  the  uplands  of  the  Columbia  Basin.  It  is 
a  somewhat  dangerous  implement  to  use  where  water 
conservation  is  important,  since  the  packing  resulting 
from  the  roller  tends  to  draw  water  upward  from  the 
lower  soil  layers  to  be  evaporated  into  the  air.  Wher- 
ever the  roller  is  used,  therefore,  it  should  be  followed 
immediately  by  a  harrow.  It  is  valuable  chiefly  in 
the  localities  where  the  soil  is  very  loose  and  light  and 
needs  packing  around  the  seeds  to  permit  perfect 
germination. 


316  DRY-FARMING 

Subsurface  packing 

The  subsurface  packer  invented  by  Campbell  is 
shown  in  Figure  83.  The  wheels  of  this  machine, 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  with  rims  one  inch  thick 
at  the  inner  part,  beveled  two  and  a  half  inches  to  a 
sharp  outer  edge,  are  placed  on  a  shaft,  five  inches 


Fig.  83.    Subsurface  packer. 

apart.     In  practice  about  five  hundred  pounds  of 
weight  are  added. 

This  machine,  according  to  Campbell,  crowds  a 
one-inch  wedge  into  every  five  inches  of  soil  with  a 
lateral  and  a  downward  pressure  and  thus  packs 
firmly  the  soil  near  the  bottom  of  the  plow-furrow. 
Subsurface  packing  aims  to  establish  full  capillary 
connection  between  the  plowed  upper  soil  and  the 
undisturbed  lower  soil-layer;  to  bring  the  moist  soil 


DRILLS    FOR   DRY-FARMING  317 

in  close  contact  with  the  straw  or  organic  litter 
plowed  under  and  thus  to  hasten  decomposition,  and 
to  provide  a  firm  seed  bed. 

The  subsurface  packer  probably  has  some  value 
where  the  plowed  soil  containing  the  stubble  is  some- 
what loose;  or  on  soils  which  do  not  permit  of  a 
rapid  decay  of  stubble  and  other  organic  matter  that 
may  be  plowed  under  from  season  to  season.  On 
such  soils  the  packing  tendency  of  the  subsurface 
packer  may  help  prevent  loss  of  soil  water,  and  may 
also  assist  in  furnishing  a  more  uniform  medium 
through  which  plant  roots  may  force  their  way. 
For  all  these  purposes,  the  disk  is  usually  equally 
efficient. 

Sowing 

It  has  already  been  indicated  in  previous  chapters 
that  proper  sowing  is  one  of  the  most  important 
operations  of  the  dry-farm,  quite  comparable  in 
importance  with  plowing  or  the  maintaining  of  a 
mulch  for  retaining  soil-moisture.  The  old-fashioned 
method  of  broadcasting  has  absolutely  no  place  on  a 
dry-farm.  The  success  of  dry-farming  depends  en- 
tirely upon  the  control  that  the  farmer  has  of  all  the 
operations  of  the  farm.  By  broadcasting,  neither  the 
quantity  of  seed  used  nor  the  manner  of  placing  the 
seed  in  the  ground  can  be  regulated.  Drill  culture, 
therefore,  introduced  by  Jethro  Tull  two  hundred 


318 


DRY-FARMING 


years  ago,  which  gives  the  farmer  full  control  over 
the  process  of  seeding,  is  the  only  system  to  be  used. 
The  numerous  seed  drills  on  the  market  all  employ 
the  same  principles.  Their  variations  are  few  and 
simple.  In  all  seed  drills  the  seed  is  forced  into  tubes 
so  placed  as  to  enable  the  seed  to  fall  into  the  fur- 
r<  »\vs  in  the  ground.     The  drills  themselves  are  distin- 


FiQ.  -4.     Disk  drill  and  seeder. 


guished  almost  wholly  by  the  type  of  the  furrow 
opener  and  the  covering  devices  which  are  used.  The 
seed  furrow  is  opened  either  by  a  small  hoe  or  a 
so-called  shoe  or  disk.  At  the  present  time  it  appears 
that  the  single  disk  is  the  coming  method  of  opening 
the  >rrd  furrow  and  that  the  other  methods  will 
gradually  disappear.  As  the  seed  is  dropped  into 
the  furrow  thus  made  it  is  covered  by  some  device  at 
the  rear  of  the  machine.  One  of  the  oldest  methods 
as  well  as  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  is  a  series  of 


DRILLS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  319 

chains  dragging  behind  the  drill  and  covering  the 
furrow  quite  completely.     It  is,  however,  very  de- 


FlQ.  85.     Drill  seeder  with  press  wheel  attat  hment. 

sirable  that  the  soil  should  be  pressed  carefully  around 
the  seed  so  that  germination  may  begin  with  the 


Fig.  86.     Sulky  lister  for  corn. 


least   difficulty   whenever   the    temperature    condi- 
tions are  right.     Most  of  the  drills  of  the  day  are, 


320  DRY-FARMING 

therefore,  provided  with  large  light  wheels,  one  fo! 
each  furrow,  which  press  lightly  upon  the  soil  and 
force  the  soil  into  intimate  contact  with  the  seed. 
(See  Figs.  84  and  85.)  The  weakness  of  such  an 
arrangement  is  that  the  soil  along  the  drill  furrows 
is  left  somewhat  packed,  which  leads  to  a  ready 
escape  of  the  soil-moisture.  Many  of  the  drills  are 
so  arranged  that  press  wheels  may  be  used  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  farmer.  The  seed  drill  is  already  a 
very  useful  implement  and  is  rapidly  being  made  to 
meet  the  special  requirements  of  the  dry-farmer. 
Corn  planters  are  used  almost  exclusively  on  dry- 
farms  where  corn  is  the  leading  crop.  In  principle 
they  are  very  much  the  same  as  the  press  drills. 
Potatoes  are  also  generally  planted  by  machinery. 
Wherever  seeding  machinery  has  been  constructed, 
based  upon  the  principles  of  dry-farming,  it  is  a 
very  advantageous  adjunct  to  the  dry-farm. 

Harvesting 

The  immense  areas  of  dry-farms  are  harvested 
almost  wholly  by  the  most  modern  machinery.  For 
grain,  the  harvester  is  used  almost  exclusively  in  the 
districts  where  the  header  cannot  be  used,  but  wher- 
ever conditions  permit,  the  header  is  and  should  be 
used.  It  has  been  explained  in  previous  chapters 
how  valuable  the  tall  header  stubble  is  when  plowed 
under  as  a  means  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the 


HARVESTERS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  321 

soil.  Besides,  there  is  an  ease  in  handling  the  header 
which  is  not  known  with  the  harvester.  There  are 
times  when  the  header  leads  to  some  waste  as,  for 
instance,  when  the  wheat  is  very  low  and  heads  are 
missed  as  the  machine  passes  over  the  ground.  In 
many  sections  of  the  dry-farm  territory  the  climatic 
conditions  are  such  that  the  wheat  cures  perfectly 
while  still  standing.  In  such  places  the  combined 
harvester  and  thresher  is  used.  The  header  cuts  off 
the  heads  of  the  grain,  which  are  passed  up  into  the 
thresher,  and  bags  filled  with  threshed  grain  are 
dropped  along  the  path  of  the  machine,  while  the 
straw  is  scattered  over  the  ground.  Wherever  such  a 
machine  can  be  used,  it  has  been  found  to  be  econom- 
ical and  satisfactory.  Of  recent  years  corn  stalks 
have  been  used  to  better  advantage  than  in  the  past, 
for  not  far  from  one  half  of  the  feeding  value  of  the 
corn  crop  is  in  the  stalks,  which  up  to  a  few  years  ago 
were  very  largely  wasted.  Corn  harvesters  are  like- 
wise on  the  market  and  are  quite  generally  used.  It 
was  manifestly  impossible  on  large  places  to  harvest 
corn  by  hand  and  large  corn  harvesters  have,  there- 
fore, been  made  for  this  purpose.  (See  Figs.  50,  51 
and  53.) 

Steam  and  other  motive  "power 

Recently  numerous  persons  have  suggested  that  the 
expense  of  running  a  dry-farm  could  be  materially  re- 
duced by  using  some  motive  power  other  than  horses. 


322 


DRY-FARMING 


Steam,  gasoline,  and  electricity  have  all  been  sug- 
gested. The  steam  traction  engine  is  already  a  fairly 
well-developed  machine  and  it  has   been  used  for 


Fig.  87.     Utah  dry-farm  weeder. 


plowing  purposes  on  many  dry-farms  in  nearly  all  the 
sections  of  the  dry-farm  territory.  Unfortunately, 
up  to  the  present  it  has  not  shown  itself  to  be  very 
satisfactory.  First  of  all  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  principles  of  dry- farming  require  that  the  top- 
soil  be  kept  very  loose  and  spongy.  The  great  trac- 
tion engines  have  very  wide  wheels  of  such  t  re  men- 


STEAM   IMPLEMENTS   FOR   DRY-FARMING         323 

dous  weight  that  they  press  down  the  soil  very  com- 
pactly along  their  path  and  in  that  way  defeat  one  of 
the  important  purposes  of  tillage.  Another  objection 
to  them  is  that  at  present  their  construction  is  such  as 
to  result  in  continual  breakages.  While  these  break- 
ages in  themselves  are  small  and  inexpensive,  they 
mean  the  cessation  of  all  farming  operations  during 
the  hour  or  day  required  for  repairs.  A  large  crew 
of  men  is  thus  left  more  or  less  idle,  to  the  serious  in- 
jury of  the  work  and  to  the  great  expense  of  the 
owner.  Undoubtedly,  the  traction  engine  has  a 
place  in  dry-farming,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  perfected 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  make  it  satisfactory.  On  heavy 
soils  it  is  much  more  useful  than  on  light  soils.  When 
the  tract  ion  engine  works  satisfactorily,  plowing  may 
be  done  at  a  cost  considerably  lower  than  when 
horses  air  employed.     (See  Fig.  72.) 

In  England,  Germany,  and  other  European  coun- 
tries some  of  the  difficulties  connected  with  plowing 
have  been  overcome  by  using  two  engines  on  the  two 
opposite  sides  of  a  field.  These  engines  move  syn- 
chronously together  and,  by  means  of  large  cables, 
plows,  harrows,  or  seeders,  are  pulled  back  and  forth 
over  the  field.  This  method  seems  to  give  good  satis- 
faction on  many  large  estates  of  the  old  world.  Mac- 
do  nald  reports  that  such  a  system  is  in  successful 
operation  in  the  Transvaal  in  South  Africa  and  is 
doing  work  there  at  a  very  low  cost.  The  large  initial 
cost  of  such  a  system  will,  of  course,  prohibit  its  use 


POWER   IMPLEMENTS   FOR   DRY-FARMING         325 

except  on  the  very  large  farms  that  are  being  estab- 
lished in  the  dry-farm  territory. 

Gasoline  engines  are  also  being  tried  out,  but  up 
to  date  they  have  not  shown  themselves  as  possessing 
superior  advantages  over  the  steam  engines.  The 
two  objections  to  them  are  the  same  as  to  the  steam 
engine :  first,  their  great  weight,  which  compresses  in 
a  dangerous  degree  the  topsoil  and,  secondly,  the 
frequent  breakages,  which  make  the  operation  slow 
and  expensive. 

Over  a  great  part  of  the  West,  water  power  is 
very  abundant  and  the  suggestion  has  been  made 
that  the  electric  energy  which  can  be  developed  by 
means  of  water  power  could  be  used  in  the  cultural 
operations  of  the  dry-farm.  With  the  development 
of  the  trolley  car  which  does  not  run  on  rails  it  would 
not  seem  impossible  that  in  favorable  localities  elec- 
tricity could  be  made  to  serve  the  farmer  in  the 
mechanical  tillage  of  the  dry-farm. 

The  substitution  of  steam  and  other  energy  for 
horse  power  is  yet  in  the  future.  Undoubtedly,  it 
will  come,  but  only  as  improvements  are  made  in  the 
machines.  There  is  here  also  a  great  field  for  being 
of  high  service  to  the  farmers  who  are  attempting  to 
reclaim  the  great  deserts  of  the  world.  As  stated  at 
the  beginning  of  .this  chapter,  dry-farming  would 
probably  have  been  an  impossibility  fifty  or  a  hundred 
years  ago  because  of  the  absence  of  suitable  machin- 
ery.   The  future  of  dry-farming  rests  almost  wholly, 


IMPLEMENTS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  327 

so  far  as  its  profits  are  concerned,  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  new  and  more  suitable  machinery  for  the 
tillage  of  the  soil  in  accordance  with  the  established 
principles  of  dry-farming. 

Finally,  the  recommendations  made  by  Merrill  may 
here  be  inserted.  A  dry-farmer  for  best  work  should 
be  supplied  with  the  following  implements  in  addition 
to  the  necessary  wagons  and  hand  tools:  — 

One  Plow. 

One  Disk. 

One  Smoothing  Harrow. 

One  Drill  Seeder. 

One  Harvester  or  Header. 

One  Mowing  Machine. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

IRRIGATION   AXD   DRY-FARMING 

iRRiGATiox-farming  and  dry-farming  are  both 
systems  of  agriculture  devised  for  the  reclamation  of 
countries  that  ordinarily  receive  an  annual  rainfall 
of  twenty  inches  or  less.  Irrigation-farming  cannot 
of  itself  reclaim  the  arid  regions  of  the  world,  for  the 
available  water  supply  of  arid  countries  when  it  shall 
have  been  conserved  in  the  best  possible  way  cannot 
be  made  to  irrigate  more  than  one  fifth  of  the  thirsty 
land.  This  means  that  under  the  highest  possible 
development  of  irrigation,  at  least  in  the  United 
States,  there  will  be  five  or  six  acres  of  unirrigated 
or  dry-farm  land  for  every  acre  of  irrigated  land. 
Irrigation  development  cannot  possibly,  therefore, 
render  the  dry-farm  movement  valueless.  On  the 
other  hand,  dry-farming  is  furthered  by  the  develop- 
ment of  irrigation  farming,  for  both  these  systems  of 
agriculture  are  characterized  by  advantages  that 
make  irrigation  and  dry-farming  supplementary  to 
each  other  in  the  successful  development  of  any  arid 
region. 

Under  irrigation,  smaller  areas  need  to  be  culti* 

328 


IRRIGATION   VS.    DRY-FARMING 


329 


vated  for  the  same  crop  returns,  for  it  has  been  amply 
demonstrated  that  the  acre  yields  under  proper  irri- 
gation are  very  much  larger  than  the  best  yields  under 


Fig.  90.     Dry-farm  with  flood-water  reservoir.     Utah. 

the  most  careful  system  of  dry-farming.  Secondly,  a 
greater  variety  of  crops  may  be  grown  on  the  irrigated 
farm  than  on  the  dry-farm.  As  has  already  been 
shown  in  this  volume,  only  certain  drouth  resistant 
crops  can  be  grown  profitably  upon  dry-farms,  and 
these  must  be  grown  under  the  methods  of  extensive 
farming.  The  longer  growing  crops,  including  trees, 
succulent  vegetables,  and  a  variety  of  small  fruits, 
have  not  as  yet  been  made  to  yield  profitably  under 
arid  conditions  without  the  artificial  application  of 
water.  Further,  the  irrigation-farmer  is  not  largely 
dependent  upon  the  weather  and,  therefore,  carries  on 


330  DRY-FARMING 

this  work  with  a  feeling  of  greater  security.  Of 
course,  it  is  true  that  the  dry  years  affect  the  flow  of 
water  in  the  canals  and  that  the  frequent  breaking  of 
dams  and  canal  walls  leaves  the  farmer  helpless  in  the 
face  of  the  blistering  heat.  Yet,  all  in  all,  a  greater 
feeling  of  security  is  possessed  by  the  irrigation- 
farmer  than  by  the  dry-farmer. 

Most  important,  however,  are  the  temperamental 
differences  in  men  which  make  some  desirous  of  giving 
themselves  to  the  cultivation  of  a  small  area  of  irri- 
gated land  under  intensive  conditions  and  others  to 
dry-farming  under  extensive  conditions.  In  fact,  it 
is  being  observed  in  the  arid  region  that  men,  because 
of  their  temperamental  differences,  are  gradually  sep- 
arating into  the  two  classes  of  irrigation-farmers  and 
dry-farmers.  The  dry-farms  of  necessity  cover  much 
larger  areas  than  the  irrigated  farms.  The  land  is 
cheaper  and  the  crops  are  smaller.  The  methods  to 
be  applied  are  those  of  extensive  farming.  The  prof- 
its on  the  investment  also  appear  to  be  somewhat 
larger.  The  very  necessity  of  pitting  intellect  against 
the  fierceness  of  the  drouth  appears  to  have  attracted 
many  men  to  the  dry-farms.  Gradually,  the  cer- 
tainty of  producing  crops  on  dry-farms  from  season 
to  season  is  becoming  established,  and  the  essential 
difference  between  the  two  kinds  of  farming  in  the 
arid  districts  will  then  be  the  difference  between 
intensive  and  extensive  methods  of  culture.  Men 
will  be  attracted  to  one  or  other  of  these  systems 


IRRIGATION-FARMS   AND    DRY-FARMS 


331 


of  agriculture  according  to  their  personal  inclina- 
tions. 


The  scarcity  of  water 

For  the  development  of  a  well-rounded  common- 
wealth in  an  arid  region  it  is,  of  course,  indispensable 
that  irrigation  be  practiced,  for  dry-farming  of  itself 
will  find  it  difficult  to  build  up  populous  cities  and  to 


Fig.  91 


■ad,  Montana, 
been  filed  upon. 


months  after  land  had 


supply  the  great  variety  of  crops  demanded  by  the 
modern  family.  In  fact,  one  of  the  great  problems 
before  those  engaged  in  the  development  of  dry- 
farming  at  present  is  the  development  of  homesteads 


332  DRY-FARMING 

on  the  dry-farms.  A  homestead  is  possible  only 
where  there  is  a  sufficient  amount  of  free  water  avail- 
able for  household  and  stock  purposes.  In  the  por- 
tion of  the  dry-farm  territory  where  the  rainfall  ap- 
proximates twenty  inches,  this  problem  is  not  so  very 
difficult,  since  ground  water  may  be  reached  easily. 
In  the  drier  portions,  however,  where  the  rainfall  is 
between  ten  and  fifteen  inches,  the  problem  is  much 
more  important.  The  conditions  that  bring  the  dis- 
trict under  the  dry-farm  designation  imply  a  scarcity 
of  water.  On  few  dry-farms  is  water  available  for 
the  needs  of  the  household  and  the  barns.  In  the 
Rocky  Mountain  states  numerous  dry-farms  have 
been  developed  from  seven  to  fifteen  miles  from  the 
nearest  source  of  water,  and  the  main  expense  of 
developing  these  farms  has  been  the  hauling  of  water 
to  the  farms  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  men  and  beasts 
at  work  on  them.  Naturally,  it  is  impossible  to  es- 
tablish homesteads  on  the  dry-farms  unless  at  least 
a  small  supply  of  water  is  available ;  and  dry-farming 
will  never  be  what  it  might  be  unless  happy  homes 
can  be  established  upon  the  farms  in  the  arid  regions 
that  grow  crops  without  irrigation.  To  make  a  dry- 
farm  homestead  possible  enough  water  must  be  avail- 
able, first  of  all,  to  supply  the  culinary  needs  of  the 
household.  This  of  itself  is  not  large  and,  as  will  be 
shown  hereafter,  may  in  most  cases  be  obtained. 
However,  in  order  that  the  family  may  possess  proper 
comforts,  there  should  be   around  the  homestead 


IRRIGATION   IN   DRY-FARMING  333 

trees,  and  shrubs,  and  grasses,  and  the  family  garden. 
To  secure  these  things  a  certain  amount  of  irrigation 
water  is  required.  It  may  be  added  that  dry-farms 
on  which  such  homesteads  are  found  as  a  result  of  the 
existence  of  a  small  supply  of  irrigation  water  are 
much  more  valuable,  in  case  of  sale,  than  equally 
good  farms  without  the  possibility  of  maintaining 
homesteads.  Moreover,  the  distinct  value  of  irriga- 
tion in  producing  a  large  acre  yield  makes  it  desirable 
for  the  farmer  to  use  all  the  water  at  his  disposal  for 
irrigation  purposes.  No  available  water  should  be 
allowed  to  flow  away  unused. 

Available  surface  water 

The  sources  of  water  for  dry-farms  fall  readily 
into  classes :  surface  waters  and  subterranean  waters. 
The  surface  waters,  wherever  they  may  be  obtained, 
are  generally  the  most  profitable.  The  simplest 
method  of  obtaining  water  in  an  irrigated  region  is 
from  some  irrigation  canal.  In  certain  districts  of 
the  intermountain  region  where  the  dry  farms  lie 
above  the  irrigation  canals  and  the  irrigated  lands 
below,  it  is  comparatively  easy  for  the  farmers  to 
secure  a  small  but  sufficient  amount  of  water  from 
the  canal  by  the  use  of  some  pumping  device  that 
will  force  the  water  through  the  pipes  to  the  home- 
stead. The  dry-farm  area  that  may  be  so  supplied 
by  irrigation  canals  is,  however,  very  limited  and  is 


334  DRY-FARMING 

not  to  be  considered  seriously  in  connection  with 
the  problem. 

A  much  more  important  method,  especially  in 
the  mountainous  districts,  is  the  utilization  of  the 
springs  that  occur  in  great  numbers  over  the  whole 
dry-farm  territory.  Sometimes  these  springs  are 
very  small  indeed,  and  often,  after  development  by 
tunneling  into  the  side  of  the  hill,  yield  only  a  tri- 
fling flow.  Yet,  when  this  water  is  piped  to  the  home- 
stead and  allowed  to  accumulate  in  small  reservoirs 
or  cisterns,  it  may  be  amply  sufficient  for  the  needs 
of  the  family  and  the  live  stock,  besides  leaving  a 
surplus  for  the  maintenance  of  the  lawn,  the  shade 
trees,  and  the  family  garden.  Many  dry-farmers 
in  the  intermountain  country  have  piped  water 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  small  springs  that  were 
considered  practically  worthless  and  thereby  have 
formed  the  foundations  for  small  village  communi- 
ties. 

Of  perhaps  equal  importance  with  the  utilization 
of  the  naturally  occurring  springs  is  the  proper  con- 
servation of  the  flood  waters.  As  has  been  stated 
before,  arid  conditions  allow  a  very  large  loss  of  the 
natural  precipitation  as  run-off.  The  numerous 
gullies  that  characterize  so  many  parts  of  the  dry- 
farm  territory  are  evidences  of  the  number  and 
vigor  of  the  flood  waters.  The  construction  of  small 
reservoirs  in  proper  places  for  the  purpose  of  catch- 
ing the  flood  waters  will  usually  enable  the  farmei 


336  DRY-FARMING 

to  supply  himself  with  all  the  water  needed  for  the 
homestead.  Such  reservoirs  may  already  be  found 
in  great  numbers  scattered  over  the  whole  western 
America.  As  dry-farming  increases  their  numbers 
will  also  increase. 

When  neither  canals,  nor  springs,  nor  flood  waters 
are  available  for  the  supply  of  water,  it  is  yet  possible 
to  obtain  a  limited  supply  by  so  arranging  the  roof 
gutters  on  the  farm  buildings  that  all  the  water  that 
falls  on  the  roofs  is  conducted  through  the  spouts 
into  carefully  protected  cisterns  or  reservoirs.  A 
house  thirty  by  thirty  feet,  the  roof  of  which  is  so 
constructed  that  all  that  water  that  falls  upon  it  is 
carried  into  a  cistern  will  yield  annually  under  a 
a  rainfall  of  fifteen  inches  a  maximum  amount  of 
water  equivalent  to  about  8800  gallons.  Allowing 
for  the  unavoidable  waste  due  to  evaporation,  this 
will  yield  enough  to  supply  a  household  and  some 
live  stock  with  the  necessary  water.  In  extreme 
cases  this  has  been  found  to  be  a  very  satisfactory 
practice,  though  it  is  the  one  to  be  resorted  to  only 
in  case  no  other  method  is  available. 

It  is  indispensable  that  some  reservoir  be  provided 
to  hold  the  surface  water  that  may  be  obtained  until 
the  time  it  may  be  needed.  The  water  coming  con- 
stantly from  a  spring  in  summer  should  be  applied 
to  crops  only  at  certain  definite  seasons  of  the  year. 
The  flood  waters  usually  come  at  a  time  when  plant 
growth  is  not  active  and  irrigation  is  not  needed. 


RESERVOIRS   FOR   DRY-FARMING  337 

The  rainfall  also  in  many  districts  comes  most  largely 
at  seasons  of  no  or  little  plant  growth.  Reservoirs 
must,  therefore,  be  provided  for  the  storing  of  the 
water  until  the  periods  when  it  is  demanded  by 
crops.  Cement-lined  cisterns  are  quite  common, 
and  in  many  places  cement  reservoirs  have  been 
found  profitable.  In  other  places  the  occurrence  of 
impervious  clay  has  made  possible  the  establishment 
and  construction  of  cheap  reservoirs.  The  skillful 
and  permanent  construction  of  reservoirs  is  a  very 
important  subject.  Reservoir  building  should  be 
undertaken  only  after  a  careful  study  of  the  prevail- 
ing conditions  and  under  the  advice  of  the  state  or 
government  officials  having  such  work  in  charge. 
In  general,  the  first  cost  of  small  reservoirs  is  usually 
somewhat  high,  but  in  view  of  their  permanent  serv- 
ice and  the  value  of  the  water  to  the  dry-farm  they 
pay  a  very  handsome  interest  on  the  investment. 
It  is  always  a  mistake  for  the  dry-farmer  to  postpone 
the  construction  of  a  reservoir  for  the  storing  of  the 
small  quantities  of  water  that  he  may  possess,  in 
order  to  save  a  little  money.  Perhaps  the  greatest 
objection  to  the  use  of  the  reservoirs  is  not  their 
relatively  high  cost,  but  the  fact  that  since  they  are 
usually  small  and  the  water  shallow,  too  large  a  pro- 
portion of  the  water,  even  under  favorable  conditions, 
is  lost  by  evaporation.  It  is  ordinarily  assumed 
that  one  half  of  the  water  stored  in  small  reservoirs 
throughout  the  vear  is  lost  by  direct  evaporation. 


338  DRY-FARMING 

Available  subterranean  water 

Where  surface  waters  are  not  readily  available,  the 
subterranean  water  is  of  first  importance.  It  is  gen- 
erally known  that,  underlying  the  earth's  surface  at 
various  depths,  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  free  water. 
Those  living  in  humid  climates  often  overestimate 
the  amount  of  water  so  held  in  the  earth's  crust, 
and  it  is  probably  true  that  those  living  in  arid  regions 
underestimate  the  quantity  of  water  so  found. 
The  fact  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  that  free  water 
is  found  everywhere  under  the  earth's  surface. 
Those  familiar  with  the  arid  West  have  frequently 
been  surprised  by  the  frequency  with  which  water 
has  been  found  at  comparatively  shallow  depths  in 
the  most  desert  locations.  Various  estimates  have 
been  made  as  to  the  quantity  of  underlying  water. 
The  latest  calculation  and  perhaps  the  most  reliable 
is  that  made  by  Fuller,  who,  after  a  careful  analysis 
of  the  factors  involved,  concludes  that  the  total 
free  water  held  in  the  earth's  crust  is  equivalent  to  a 
uniform  sheet  of  water  over  the  entire  surface  of  the 
earth  ninety-six  feet  in  depth.  A  quantity  of  water 
thus  held  would  be  equivalent  to  about  one  hun- 
dredth part  of  the  whole  volume  of  the  ocean.  Even 
though  the  thickness  of  the  water  sheet  under  arid 
soils  is  only  half  this  figure  there  is  an  amount,  if 
it  could  be  reached,  that  would  make  possible  the 
establishment  of  homesteads  over  the  whole  dry- 


WELL   WATER   FOR   DRY-FARMING  339 

farm  territory.  One  of  the  main  efforts  ot  the  day 
is  the  determination  of  the  occurrence  of  the  sub- 
terranean waters  in  the  dry-farm  territory. 

Ordinary  dug  wells  frequently  reach  water  at  com- 
paratively   shallow    depths.     Over    the    cultivated 


Fig.  93.      Some  dry-farm  products.     Montana. 

Utah  deserts  water  is  often  found  at  a  depth  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  feet,  though  many  wells  dug 
to  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  and  two 
hundred  feet  have  failed  to  reach  water.  It  may  be 
remarked  in  this  connection  that  even  where  the 
distance  to  the  water  is  small,  the  piped  well  has 
been  found  to  be  superior  to  the  dug  well.     Usually, 


340  DRY-FARMING 

water  is  obtained  in  the  dry-farm  territory  by  driving 
pipes  to  comparatively  great  depths,  ranging  from 
one  hundred  feet  to  over  one  thousand  feet.  At 
such  depths  water  is  nearly  always  found.  Often 
the  geological  conditions  are  such  as  to  force  the 
water  up  above  the  surface  as  artesian  wells,  though 
more  often  the  pressure  is  simply  sufficient  to  bring 
the  water  within  easy  pumping  distance  of  the  sur- 
face. In  connection  with  this  subject  it  must  be 
said  that  many  of  the  subterranean  waters  of  the 
dry-farm  territory  are  of  a  saline  character.  The 
amount  of  substances  held  in  solution  varies  largely, 
but  frequently  is  far  above  the  limits  of  safety  for 
the  use  of  man  or  beast  or  plants.  The  dry-farmer 
who  secures  a  well  of  this  type  should,  therefore, 
be  careful  to  have  a  proper  examination  made  of  the 
constituents  of  the  water  before  ordinary  use  is  made 
of  it. 

Now,  as  has  been  said,  the  utilization  of  the  sub- 
terranean waters  of  the  land  is  one  of  the  living 
problems  of  dry-farming.  The  tracing  out  of  this 
layer  of  water  is  very  difficult  to  accomplish  and 
cannot  be  done  by  individuals.  It  is  a  work  that 
properly  belongs  to  the  state  and  national  govern- 
ment. The  state  of  Utah,  which  was  the  pioneer  in 
appropriating  money  for  dry-farm  experiments, 
also  led  the  way  in  appropriating  money  for  the 
securing  of  water  for  the  dry-farms  from  subter- 
ranean sources.    The  work  has  been  progressing  in 


WATER   FOR   DRY-FARMS  341 

Utah  since  1905,  and  water  has  been  secured  in  the 
most  unpromising  localities.  The  nlost  remarkable 
instance  is  perhaps  the  finding  of  water  at  a  depth  of 
about  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  the  unusually 
dry  Dog  Valley  located  some  fifteen  miles  west  of 
Nephi. 

Pumping  water 

The  use  of  small  quantities  of  water  on  the  dry- 
farms  carries  with  it,  in  most  cases,  the  use  of 
small  pumping  plants  to  store  and  to  distribute  the 
water  properly.  Especially,  whenever  subterranean 
sources  of  water  are  used  and  the  water  pressure  is 
not  sufficient  to  throw  the  water  above  the  ground, 
pumping  must  be  resorted  to.  The  pumping  of 
water  for  agricultural  purposes  is  not  at  all  new. 
According  to  Fortier,  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  land  are  irrigated  with  water  pumped  from  driven 
wells  in  the  state  of  California  alone.  Seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  acres  are  irrigated  by  pump- 
ing in  the  United  States,  and  Mead  states  that  there 
are  thirteen  million  acres  of  land  in  India  which  are 
irrigated  by  water  pumped  from  subterranean 
sources.  The  dry-farmer  has  a  choice  among  several 
sources  of  power  for  the  operation  of  his  pumping 
plant.  In  localities  where  winds  are  frequent  and 
of  sufficient  strength  windmills  furnish  cheap  and 
effective  power,  especially  where  the  lift  is  not  very 
great.    The  gasoline  engine  is  in  a  state  of  consider- 


342  DRY-FARMING 

able  perfection  and  may  be  used  economically  where 
the  price  of  gasoline  is  reasonable.  Engines  using 
crude  oil  may  be  most  desirable  in  the  localities  where 
oil  wells  have  been  found.  As  the  manufacture  of 
alcohol  from  the  waste  products  of  the  farms  becomes 
established,  the  alcohol-burning  engine  could  become 
a  very  important  one.  Over  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
dry-farm  territory  coal  is  found  in  large  quantities, 
and  the  steam  engine  fed  by  coal  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  pumping  of  water  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses. Further,  in  the  mountainous  part  of  the  dry- 
farm  territory  water  power  is  very  abundant.  Only 
the  smallest  fraction  of  it  has  as  yet  been  harnessed 
for  the  generation  of  the  electric  current.  As  electric 
generation  increases,  it  should  be  comparatively 
easy  for  the  farmer  to  secure  sufficient  electric  power 
to  run  the  pump.  This  has  already  become  an 
established  practice  in  districts  where  electric  power 
is  available. 

During  the  last  few  years  considerable  wTork  has 
been  done  to  determine  the  feasibility  of  raising  water 
for  irrigation  by  pumping.  Fortier  reports  that 
successful  results  have  been  obtained  in  Colorado, 
Wyoming,  and  Montana.  He  declares  that  a  good 
type  of  windmill  located  in  a  district  where  the 
average  wind  movement  is  ten  miles  per  hour  can 
lift  enough  water  twenty  feet  to  irrigate  five  acres 
of  land.  Wherever  the  water  is  near  the  surface 
this  should  be  easy  of  accomplishment.     Vernon, 


RAISING   THE    WATER 


343 


Lovett,  and  Scott,  who  worked  under  New  Mexico 
conditions,  have  reported  that  crops  can  be  produced 
profitably  by  the  use  of  water  raised  to  the  surface  for 
irrigation.  Fleming  and  Stoneking,  who  conducted 
very  careful  experiments  on  the  subject  in  New 
Mexico,  found  that  the  cost  of  raising  through  one  foot 
a  quantity  of  water  corresponding  to  a  depth  of  one 


Fig.  94.     Dry-farm  vegetable  garden.    Dawson  Co.,  Montana. 

foot  over  one  acre  of  land  varied  from  a  cent  and  an 
eighth  to  nearly  twenty-nine  cents,  with  an  average 
of  a  little  more  than  ten  cents.  This  means  that  the 
cost  of  raising  enough  water  to  cover  one  acre  to  a 
depth  of  one  foot  through  a  distance  of  forty  feet 
would  average  $4.36.  This  includes  not  only  the 
cost  of  the  fuel  and  supervision  of  the  pump  but  the 
actual  deterioration  of  the  plant.    Smith  invests 


344  DRY-FARMING 

gated  the  same  problem  under  Arizona  conditions 
and  found  that  it  cost  approximately  seventeen  cents 
.  to  raise  one  acre  foot  of  water  to  a  height  of  one  foot. 
A  very  elaborate  investigation  of  this  nature  was 
conducted  in  California  by  Le  Conte  and  Tait.  They 
studied  a  large  number  of  pumping  plants  in  actual 
operation  under  California  conditions,  and  deter- 
mined that  the  total  cost  of  raising  one  acre  foot  of 
water  one  foot  was,  for  gasoline  power,  four  cents 
and  upward;  for  electric  power,  seven  to  sixteen 
cents,  and  for  steam,  four  cents  and  upward.  Mead 
has  reported  observations  on  seventy-two  windmills 
near  Garden  City,  Kansas,  which  irrigated  from 
one  fourth  to  seven  acres  each  at  a  cost  of  seventy- 
five  cents  to  $6  per  acre.  All  in  all,  these  results 
j  ustify  the  belief  that  water  may  be  raised  profitably 
by  pumping  for  the  purpose  of  irrigating  crops. 
When  the  very  great  value  of  a  little  water  on  a 
dry-farm  is  considered,  the  figures  here  given  do  not 
seem  at  all  excessive.  It  must  be  remarked  again 
that  a  reservoir  of  some  sort  is  practically  indispen- 
sable in  connection  with  a  pumping  plant  if  the  irri- 
gation water  is  to  be  used  in  the  best  way. 

The  use  of  small  quantities  of  water  in  irrigation 

Now,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  acre  cost  of 
water  on  dry-farms,  where  pumping  plants  or  similar 
devices  must  be  used  with  expensive  reservoirs,  is 


QUANTITY   OF   WATER    IN    IRRIGATION  345 

much  higher  than  when  water  is  obtained  from  grav- 
ity canals.  It  is,  therefore,  important  that  the  costly 
water  so  obtained  be  used  in  the  most  economical 
manner.  This  is  doubly  important  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  water  supply  obtained  on  dry-farms 
is  always  small  and  insufficient  for  all  that  the  farmer 
would  like  to  do.  Indeed,  the  profit  in  storing  and 
pumping  water  rests  largely  upon  the  economical 
application  of  water  to  crops.  This  necessitates  the 
statement  of  one  of  the  first  principles  of  scientific 
irrigation  practices,  namely,  that  the  yield  of  a  crop 
under  irrigation  is  not  proportional  to  the  amount 
of  water  applied  in  the  form  of  irrigation  water.  In 
other  words,  the  water  stored  in  the  soil  by  the 
natural  precipitation  and  the  water  that  falls  during 
the  spring  and  summer  can  either  mature  a  small 
crop  or  bring  a  crop  near  maturity.  A  small  amount 
of  water  added  in  the  form  of  irrigation  water  at  the 
right  time  will  usually  complete  the  work  and  pro- 
duce a  well-matured  crop  of  large  yield.  Irrigation 
should  only  be  supplemented  to  the  natural  precip- 
itation. As  more  irrigation  water  is  added,  the 
increase  in  yield  becomes  smaller  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  water  employed.  This  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  following  table,  which  is  taken  from 
some  of  the  irrigation  experiments  carried  on  at  the 
Utah  Station :  — 


346 


DRY-FARMING 


Effect  of  Varying  Irrigations  on  Crop  Yields  per 

Acre 


Depth  of 
Water 

Wheat 

Corx 

Alfalfa 

Potatoes 

Sugar 
Beets 
(Tons) 

Applied 

(Inches) 

(Bushels) 

(Bushels) 

(Pounds) 

(Bushels) 

5.0 

40 





194 

25 

7.5 

41 

65 



— 

— 

10.0 

41 

80 



213 

26 

15.0 

46 

78 

— 

253 

27 

25.0 

49 

77 

10,056 

258 

— 

35.0 

55 

— 

9,142 

291 

26 

50.0 

60 

84 

13,061 

— 

— 

The  soil  was  a  typical  arid  soil  of  great  depth  and 
had  been  so  cultivated  as  to  contain  a  large  quantity 
of  the  natural  precipitation.  The  first  five  inches 
of  water  added  to  the  precipitation  already  stored 
in  the  soil  produced  forty  bushels  of  wheat.  Dou- 
bling this  amount  of  irrigation  water  produced  only 
forty-one  bushels  of  wheat.  Even  with  an  irrigation 
of  fifty  inches,  or  ten  times  that  which  produced  forty 
bushels,  only  sixty  bushels  of  wheat,  or  an  increase 
of  one  half,  were  produced.  A  similar  variation 
may  be  observed  in  the  case  of  the  other  crops.  The 
first  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  this  important  principle 
of  irrigation  is  that  if  the  soil  be  so  treated  as  to 
contain  at  planting  time  the  largest  proportion  of 
the  natural  precipitation, — that  is,  if  the  ordinary 
methods  of  dry-farming  be  employed, — crops  will  be 


QUANTITY   OF   WATER  347 

produced  with  a  very  small  amount  of  irrigation 
water.  Secondly,  it  follows  that  it  would  be  a  great 
deal  better  for  the  farmer  who  raises  wheat,  for  in- 
stance, to  cover  ten  acres  of  land  with  water  to  a 
depth  of  five  inches  than  to  cover  one  acre  to  a  depth 
of  fifty  inches,  for  in  the  former  case  four  hundred 
bushels  and  in  the  second  sixty  bushels  of  wheat 
would  be  produced.  The  farmer  who  desires  to 
utilize  in  the  most  economical  manner  the  small 
amount  of  water  at  his  disposal  must  prepare  the 
land  according  to  dry-farm  methods  and  then  must 
spread  the  water  at  his  disposal  over  a  larger  area 
of  land.  The  land  must  be  plowed  in  the  fall  if  the 
conditions  permit,  and  fallowing  should  be  practiced 
wherever  possible.  If  the  farmer  does  not  wish  to 
fallow  his  family  garden  he  can  achieve  equally  good 
results  by  planting  the  rows  twice  as  far  apart  as  is 
ordinarily  the  case  and  by  bringing  the  irrigation 
furrows  near  the  rows  of  plants.  Then,  to  make 
the  best  use  of  the  water,  he  must  carefully  cover  the 
irrigation  furrow  with  dry  dirt  immediately  after 
the  water  has  been  applied  and  keep  the  whole  surface 
well  stirred  so  that  evaporation  will  be  reduced  to 
a  minimum.  The  beginning  of  irrigation  wisdom 
is  always  the  storage  of  the  natural  precipitation. 
When  that  is  done  correctly,  it  is  really  remarkable 
how  far  a  small  amount  of  irrigation  water  may  be 
made  to  go. 

Under  conditions  of  water  scarcity  it  is  often  found 


348  DRY-FARMING 

profitable  to  cany  water  to  the  garden  in  cement  or 
iron  pipes  bo  that  no  water  may  be  lost  by  seepage 
or  evaporation  during  the  conveyance  of  the  water 
from  the  reservoir  to  the  garden.  It  is  also  often 
desirable  to  convey  water  to  plants  through  pipes 
laid  under  the  ground,  perforated  at  various  intervals 
to  allow  the  water  to  escape  and  soak  into  the  soil 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  plant  roots.  All  such 
refined  methods  of  irrigation  should  be  carefully 
investigated  by  the  farmer  who  wants  the  largest 
results  from  his  limited  water  supply.  Though  such 
methods  may  seem  cumbersome  and  expensive  at 
first,  yet  they  will  be  found,  if  properly  arranged, 
to  be  almost  automatic  in  their  operation  and  also 
very  profitable. 

Forbes  has  reported  a  most  interesting  experiment 
dealing  with  the  economical  use  of  a  small  water 
supply  under  the  long  season  and  intense  water  dis- 
sipating conditions  of  Arizona.  The  source  of  supply 
was  a  well,  90  feet  deep.  A  3-  by  14-inch  pump 
cylinder  operated  by  a  12-foot  geared  windmill 
lifted  the  water  into  a  5000-gallon  storage  reservoir 
standing  on  a  support  18  feet  high.  The  water  was 
conveyed  from  this  reservoir  through  black  iron  pipes 
buried  1  or  2  feet  from  the  trees  to  be  watered. 
Small  holes  in  the  pipe  -^-  inch  in  diameter  allowed 
the  water  to  escape  at  desirable  intervals.  This 
irrigation  plant  was  under  expert  observation  for 
considerable  time,  and  it  was  found  to  furnish  suffi- 


\5«  V,"  ' 
,• ■*.»  • «  , 


J 


& 


Fig.  95.     Windmill  and  storage  tank.    Tucson,  Arizona. 


350  DRY-FARMING 

cient  water  for  domestic  use  for  one  household,  and 
irrigated  in  addition  61  olive  trees,  2  cottonwoods, 
8  pepper  trees,  1  date  palm,  19  pomegranates,  4  grape- 
vines, 1  fig  tree,  9  eucalyptus  trees,  1  ash,  and  13  mis- 
cellaneous, making  a  total  of  87  useful  trees,  mainly 
fruit-bearing,  and  32  vines  and  bushes.  (See  Fig.  95.) 
If  such  a  result  can  be  obtained  with  a  windmill  and 
with  water  ninety  feet  below  the  surface  under  the 
arid  conditions  of  Arizona,  there  should  be  little  diffi- 
culty in  securing  sufficient  water  over  the  larger  por- 
tions of  the  dry-farm  territory  to  make  possible 
beautiful  homesteads. 

The  dry-farmer  should  carefully  avoid  the  temp- 
tation to  decry  irrigation  practices.  Irrigation  and 
dry-farming  of  necessity  must  go  hand  in  hand  in 
the  development  of  the  great  arid  regions  of  the  world. 
Neither  can  well  stand  alone  in  the  building  of  great 
commonwealths  on  the  deserts  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   HISTORY   OF   DRY-FARMING 

The  great  nations  of  antiquity  lived  and  prospered 
in  arid  and  semiarid  countries.  In  the  more  or  less 
rainless  regions  of  China,  Mesopotamia,  Palestine, 
Egypt,  Mexico,  and  Peru,  the  greatest  cities  and  the 
mightiest  peoples  nourished  in  ancient  days.  Of 
the  great  civilizations  of  history  only  that  of  Europe 
has  rooted  in  a  humid  climate.  As  Hilgard  has 
suggested,  history  teaches  that  a  high  civilization 
goes  hand  in  hand  with  a  soil  that  thirsts  for  water. 
To-day,  current  events  point  to  the  arid  and  semi- 
arid  regions  as  the  chief  dependence  of  our  modern 
civilization. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  may  be  inferred  that  dry- 
farming  is  an  ancient  practice.  It  is  improbable  that 
intelligent  men  and  women  could  live  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, for  example,  for  thousands  of  years  without 
discovering  methods  whereby  the  fertile  soils  could 
be  made  to  produce  crops  in  a  small  degree  at  least 
without  irrigation.  True,  the  low  development  of 
implements  for  soil  culture  makes  it  fairly  certain 
that  dry-farming  in  those  days  was  practiced  only 
with  infinite  labor  and  patience ;  and  that  the  great 
ancient  nations  found  it  much  easier  to  construct 

351 


352 


DRY-FARMING 


great  irrigation  systems  which  would  make  crops 
certain  with  a  minimum  of  soil  tillage,  than  so  thor- 
oughly to  till  the  soil  with  imperfect  implements 
as  to  produce  certain  yields  without  irrigation.  Thus 
is  explained  the  fact  that  the  historians  of  antiquity 


Fig.  96.     The  last  of  the  breast  plows.     Modern  machinery  has  made 
dry-farming  possible. 

speak  at  length  of  the  wonderful  irrigation  systems, 
but  refer  to  other  forms  of  agriculture  in  a  most 
casual  manner.  While  the  absence  of  agricultural 
machinery  makes  it  very  doubtful  whether  dry- 
farming  was  practiced  extensively  in  olden  days,  yet 
there  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  high  antiquity  of  the 
practice. 

Kearney  quotes  Tunis  as  an  example  of  the  pos- 
sible extent  of  dry-farming  in  early  historical  days. 
Tunis  is  under  an  average  rainfall  of  about  nine 
inches,  and  there  are  no  evidences  of  irrigation  having 
been  practiced  there,  yet  at  El  Djem  are  the  ruins 


DRY-FARMING   IN   TUNIS   AND   AMERICA  353 

of  an  amphitheater  large  enough  to  accommodate 
sixty  thousand  persons,  and  in  an  area  of  one  hundred 
square  miles  there  were  fifteen  towns  and  forty-five 
villages.  The  country,  therefore,  must  have  been 
densely  populated.  In  the  seventh  century,  accord- 
ing to  the  Roman  records,  there  were  two  million 
five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  olive  trees  growing  in 
Tunis  and  cultivated  without  irrigation.  That  these 
stupendous  groves  yielded  well  is  indicated  by  the 
statement  that,  under  the  Caesars,  Tunis  was  taxed 
three  hundred  thousand  gallons  of  olive  oil  annually. 
The  production  of  oil  was  so  great  that  from  one 
town  it  was  piped  to  the  nearest  shipping  port. 
This  historical  fact  is  borne  out  by  the  present  revival 
of  olive  culture  in  Tunis,  mentioned  in  Chapter  XII. 
Moreover,  many  of  the  primitive  peoples  of  to-day, 
the  Chinese,  Hindus,  Mexicans,  and  the  American  In- 
dians, are  cultivating  large  areas  of  land  by  dry-farm 
methods,  often  highly  perfected,  which  have  been 
developed  generations  ago,  and  have  been  handed 
down  to  the  present  day.  Martin  relates  that  the 
Tarahumari  Indians  of  northern  Chihuahua,  who  are 
among  the  most  thriving  aboriginal  tribes  of  north- 
ern Mexico,  till  the  soil  by  dry-farm  methods  and 
succeed  in  raising  annually  large  quantities  of  corn 
and  other  crops.  A  crop  failure  among  them  is 
very  uncommon.  The  early  American  explorers, 
especially  the  Catholic  fathers,  found  occasional 
tribes  in  various  parts  of  America  cultivating  the 

2a 


354  DRY-FARMING 

soil  successfully  without  irrigation.  All  this  points 
to  the  high  antiquity  of  agriculture  without  irriga- 
tion in  arid  and  semiarid  countries. 

Modern  dry-farming  in  the  United  States 

The  honor  of  having  originated  modern  dry-farm- 
ing belongs  to  the  people  of  Utah.  On  July  24th, 
1847,  Brigham  Young  with  his  band  of  pioneers 
entered  Great  Salt  Lake  Valley,  and  on  that  day 
ground  was  plowed,  potatoes  planted,  and  a  tiny 
stream  of  water  led  from  City  Creek  to  cover  this 
first  farm.  The  early  endeavors  of  the  Utah  pioneers 
were  devoted  almost  wholly  to  the  construction  of 
irrigation  systems.  The  parched  desert  ground 
appeared  so  different  from  the  moist  soils  of  Illinois 
and  Iowa,  which  the  pioneers  had  cultivated,  as  to 
make  it  seem  impossible  to  produce  crops  without 
irrigation.  Still,  as  time  wore  on,  inquiring  minds 
considered  the  possibility  of  growing  crops  without 
irrigation;  and  occasionally  when  a  farmer  was 
deprived  of  his  supply  of  irrigation  water  through 
the  breaking  of  a  canal  or  reservoir  it  was  noticed 
by  the  community  that  in  spite  of  the  intense  heat 
the  plants  grew  and  produced  small  yields. 

Gradually  the  conviction  grew  upon  the  Utah 
pioneers  that  farming  without  irrigation  was  not  an 
impossibility ;  but  the  small  population  were  kept  so 
busy  with  their  small  irrigated  farms  that  no  serious 


THE    HISTORY   IN    UTAH  355 

attempts  at  dry-farming  were  made  during  the  first 
seven  or  eight  years.  The  publications  of  those 
days  indicate  that  dry-farming  must  have  been  prac- 
ticed occasionally  as  early  as  1854  or  1855. 

About  1863  the  first  dry-farm  experiment  of  any 
consequence  occurred  in  Utah.  A  number  of  emi- 
grants of  Scandinavian  descent  had  settled  in  what  is 
now  known  as  Bear  River  City,  and  had  turned  upon 
their  farms  the  alkali  water  of  Malad  Creek,  and 
naturally  the  crops  failed.  In  desperation  the  starv- 
ing settlers  plowed  up  the  sagebrush  land,  planted- 
grain,  and  awaited  results.  To  their  surprise,  fair 
yields  of  grain  were  obtained,  and  since  that  day 
dry-farming  has  been  an  established  practice  in  thatj 
portion  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Valley.  A  year  <>r 
two  later,  Christopher  Lay  ton,  a  pioneer  who  helped 
to  build  both  Utah  and  Arizona,  plowed  up  land  on 
the  famous  Sand  Ridge  between  Salt  Lake  City 
and  Ogden  and  demonstrated  that  dry-farm  wheat 
could  be  grown  successfully  on  the  deep  sandy  soil 
which  the  pioneers  had  held  to  be  worthless  for  agri- 
cultural purposes.  Since  that  day  the  Sand  Ridge 
has  been  famous  as  a  dry-farm  district,  and  Major 
J.  W.  Powell,  who  saw  the  ripened  fields  of  grain  in 
the  hot  dry  sand,  was  moved  upon  to  make  special 
mention  of  them  in  his  volume  on  the  "Arid  Lands 
of  Utah,"  published  in  1879. 

About  this  time,  perhaps  a  year  or  two  later, 
Joshua  Salisbury  and  George  L.  Farrell  began  dry- 


356 


DRY-FARMING 


farm  experiments  in  the  famous  Cache  Valley,  one 
hundred  miles  north  of  Salt  Lake  City.  After  some 
years  of  experimentation,  with  numerous  failures, 
these  and  other  pioneers  established  the  practice 
of  dry-farming  in  Cache  Valley,  which  at  present 


fmm 

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— "^ '  —      -- —  — ^, -^^ 

IWI9PP  !iJv>=-  - 

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IStr      3fc'-                     .../■■ 

Fig.  97.  Cache  Valley,  Utah,  contains  one  of  the  most  famous  dry-farm 
districts  in  the  United  States.  The  dry-farms  lie  on  the  slope 
against  the  mountains,  fifteen  miles  away. 


is  one  of  the  most  famous  dry-farm  sections  in 
the  United  States.  In  Tooele  County,  just  south 
of  Salt  Lake  City,  dry-farming  was  practiced  in 
1877  —  how  much  earlier  is  not  known.  In  the 
northern  Utah  counties  dry-farming  assumed  pro- 
portions of  consequence  only  in  the  later  '70's  and 


THE   HISTORY   FARTHER   WEST  357 

early  '80's.  During  the  '80's  it  became  a  thoroughly 
established  and  extensive  business  practice  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  state. 

California,  which  was  settled  soon  after  Utah, 
began  dry-farm  experiments  a  little  later  than  Utah. 
The  available  information  indicates  that  the  first 
farming  without  irrigation  in  California  began  in  the 
districts  of  somewhat  high  precipitation.  As  the 
population  increased,  the  practice  was  pushed  away 
from  the  mountains  towards  the  regions  of  more 
limited  rainfall.  According  to  Hilgard,  successful 
dry-farming  on  an  extensive  scale  has  been  practiced 
in  California  since  about  1868.  Olin  reports  that 
moisture-saving  methods  were  used  on  the  Califor- 
nian  farms  as  early  as  1861.  Certainly,  California 
was  a  close  second  in  originating  dry-farming. 

The  Columbia  Basin  was  settled  by  Marcus  Whit- 
man near  Walla  Walla  in  1836,  but  farming  did  not 
gain  much  headway  until  the  railroad  pushed  through 
the  great  Northwest  about  1880.  Those  familiar 
with  the  history  of  the  state  of  Washington  declare 
that  dry-farming  was  in  successful  operation  in  iso- 
lated districts  in  the  late  70's.  By  1890  it  was  a  well- 
established  practice,  but  received  a  serious  setback 
by  the  financial  panic  of  1892-1893.  Really  success- 
ful and  extensive  dry-farming  in  the  Columbia  Basin 
began  about  1897.  The  practice  of  summer  fallow 
had  begun  a  year  or  two  before.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  both  in  California  and  Washington  there 


358  DRY-FARMING 

are  districts  in  which  dry-farming  has  been  practiced 
successfully  under  a  precipitation  of  about  ten  inches, 
whereas  in  Utah  the  limit  has  been  more  nearly 
twelve  inches. 

In  the  Great  Plains  area  the  history  of  dry-farming 
is  hopelessly  lost  in  the  greater  history  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  eastern  and  more  humid  parts  of  that 
section  of  the  country.  The  great  influx  of  settlers 
on  the  western  slope  of  the  Great  Plains  area  occurred 
in  the  early  Ws  and  overflowed  into  eastern  Colo- 
rado and  Wyoming  a  few  years  later.  The  settlers 
of  this  region  brought  with  them  the  methods  of 
humid  agriculture  and  because  of  the  relatively 
high  precipitation  were  not  forced  into  the  careful 
methods  of  moisture  conservation  that  had-  been 
forced  upon  Utah,  California,  and  the  Columbia 
Basin.  Consequently,  more  failures  in  dry-farming 
are  reported  from  those  early  days  in  the  Great  Plains 
area  than  from  the  drier  sections  of  the  far  West. 
Dry-farming  was  practiced  very  successfully  in  the 
Great  Plains  area  during  the  later  '80's.  Accord- 
ing to  Payne,  the  crops  of  1889  were  very  good;  in 
1890,  less  so;  in  1891,  better;  in  1892  such  immense 
crops  were  raised  that  the  settlers  spoke  of  the 
section  as  God's  country;  in  1893,  there  was  a  par- 
tial failure,  and  in  1894  the  famous  complete  failure, 
which  was  followed  in  1895  by  a  partial  failure. 
Since  that  time  fair  crops  have  been  produced  an- 
nually.   The  dry  years  of  1893-1895  drove  most 


THE   HISTORY   ON   THE    GREAT   PLAINS  359 

of  the  discouraged  settlers  back  to  humid  sections 
and  delayed,  by  many  years,  the  settlement  and 
development  of  the  western  side  of  the  Great  Plains 
area.  That  these  failures  and  discouragements  were 
due  almost  entirely  to  improper  methods  of  soil 
culture  is  very  evident  to  the  present  day  student  of 
dry-farming.  In  fact,  from  the  very  heart  of  the 
section  which  was  abandoned  in  1893-1895  come 
reliable  records,  dating  back  to  1886,  which  show 
successful  crop  production  every  year.  The  famous 
Indian  Head  experimental  farm  of  Saskatchewan, 
at  the  north  end  of  the  Great  Plains  area,  has  an 
unbroken  record  of  good  crop  yields  from  1888,  and 
the  early  '90's  were  quite  as  dry  there  as  farther 
south.  However,  in  spite  of  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
section,  dry-farming  has  taken  a  firm  hold  upon  the 
Great  Plains  area  and  is  now  a  well-established  prac- 
tice. 

The  curious  thing  about  the  development  of  dry- 
farming  in  Utah,  California,  Washington,  and  the 
Great  Plains  is  that  these  four  sections  appear  to 
have  originated  dry-farming  independently  of  each 
other.  True,  there  was  considerable  communica- 
tion from  1849  onward  between  Utah  and  California, 
and  there  is  a  possibility  that  some  of  the  many 
Utah  settlers  who  located  in  California  brought  with 
them  accounts  of  the  methods  of  dry-farming  as 
practiced  in  Utah.  This,  however,  cannot  be  authen- 
ticated.    It  is  very  unlikely  that  the  farmers  of 


360  DRY-FARMING 

Washington  learned  dry-farming  from  their  Cali- 
fornia or  Utah  neighbors,  for  until  1880  communica- 
tion between  Washington  and  the  colonies  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Utah  was  very  difficult,  though,  of  course, 
there  was  always  the  possibility  of  accounts  of 
agricultural  methods  being  carried  from  place  to 
place  by  the  moving  emigrants.  It  is  fairly  certain 
that  the  Great  Plains  area  did  not  draw  upon  the 
far  West  for  dry-farm  methods.  The  climatic 
conditions  are  considerably  different  and  the  Great 
Plains  people  always  considered  themselves  as 
living  in  a  very  humid  country  as  compared  with 
the  states  of  the  far  West.  It  may  be  concluded, 
therefore,  that  there  were  four  independent  pioneers 
in  dry-farming  in  United  States.  Moreover,  hun- 
dreds, probably  thousands,  of  individual  farmers 
over  the  semiarid  region  have  practiced  dry-farming 
thirty  to  fifty  years  with  methods  developed  by 
themselves. 

Although  these  different  dry-farm  sections  were 
developed  independently,  yet  the  methods  which 
they  have  finally  adopted  are  practically  identical 
and  include  deep  plowing,  unless  the  subsoil  is  very 
lifeless;  fall  plowing;  the  planting  of  fall  grain 
wherever  fall  plowing  is  possible ;  and  clean  summer 
fallowing.  About  1895  the  word  began  to  pass 
from  mouth  to  mouth  that  probably  nearly  all  the 
lands  in  the  great  arid  and  semiarid  sections  of  the 
United  States  could  be  made  to  produce  profitable 


MR.    CAMPBELL  AND    DRY-FARMING  361 

crops  without  irrigation.  At  first  it  was  merely  a 
whisper;  then  it  was  talked  aloud,  and  before  long 
became  the  great  topic  of  conversation  among  the 


Fig.  98.     Automobiles  of  Montana  dry-farmers  attending  a  dry-farming 
demonstration  on  the  Fergus  Co.  substation.     Aug.  3,  1909. 

thousands  who  love  the  West  and  wish  for  its  de- 
velopment. Soon  it  became  a  National  subject  of 
discussion.  Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  new  awakening  had  been  accom- 
plished and  dry-farming  was  moving  onward  to 
conquer  the  waste  places  of  the  earth. 

H.  W.  Campbell 

The  history  of  the  new  awakening  in  dry-farming 
cannot  well  be  written  without  a  brief  account  of  the 
work  of  H.  W.  Campbell  who,  in  the  public  mind, 
has  become  intimately  identified  with  the  dry-farm 
movement.    H.  W.  Campbell  came  from  Vermont 


362  DRY-FARMING 

to  northern  South  Dakota  in  1879,  where  in  1882  he 
harvested  a  banner  crop,  —  twelve  thousand  bushels 
of  wheat  from  three  hundred  acres.  In  1883,  on 
the  same  farm  he  failed  completely.  This  experience 
led  him  to  a  study  of  the  conditions  under  which 
wheat  and  other  crops  may  be  produced  in  the  Great 
Plains  area.  A  natural  love  for  investigation  and  a 
dogged  persistence  have  led  him  to  give  his  life  to  a 
study  of  the  agricultural  problems  of  the  Great  Plains 
area.  He  admits  that  his  direct  inspiration  came 
from  the  work  of  Jethro  Tull,  who  labored  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  his  disciples.  He  conceived 
early  the  idea  that  if  the  soil  were  packed  near  the 
bottom  of  the  plow  furrow,  the  moisture  would 
be  retained  better  and  greater  crop  certainty  would 
result.  For  this  purpose  the  first  subsurface  packer 
was  invented  in  1885.  Later,  about  1895,  when  his 
ideas  had  crystallized  into  theories,  he  appeared  as 
the  publisher  of  Campbell's  "  Soil  Culture  and  Farm 
Journal."  One  page  of  each  issue  was  devoted  to  a 
succinct  statement  of  the  " Campbell  Method."  It 
was  in  1898  that  the  doctrine  of  summer  tillage  was 
begun  to  be  investigated  by  him. 

In  view  of  the  crop  failures  of  the  early  '90's  and 
the  gradual  dry-farm  awakening  of  the  later  Ws, 
Campbell's  work  was  received  with  much  interest. 
He  soon  became  identified  with  the  efforts  of  the 
railroads  to  maintain  demonstration  farms  for  the 
benefit  of  intending  settlers.     While  Campbell  has 


H.  W.  CAMPBELL  363 

long  been  in  the  service  of  the  railroads  of  the  semi- 
arid  region,  yet  it  should  be  said  in  all  fairness 
that  the  railroads  and  Mr.  Campbell  have  had  for 
their  primary  object  the  determination  of  methods 
whereby  the  farmers  could  be  made  sure  of  successful 
crops. 

Mr.  Campbell's  doctrines  of  soil  culture,  based  on 
his  accumulated  experience,  are  presented  in  Camp- 
bell's "Soil  Culture  Manual,"  the  first  edition  of  which 
appeared  about  1904  and  the  latest  edition,  consider- 
ably extended,  was  published  in  1907.  The  1907 
manual  is  the  latest  official  word  by  Mr.  Campbell 
on  the  principles  and  methods  of  the  "Campbell 
system."  The  essential  features  of  the  system  may 
be  summarized  as  follows:  The  storage  of  water  in 
the  soil  is  imperative  for  the  production  of  crops  in 
dry  years.  This  may  be  accomplished  by  proper 
tillage.  Disk  the  land  immediately  after  harvest; 
follow  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  plow ;  follow  the 
plow  with  the  subsurface  packer;  and  follow  the 
packer  with  the  smoothing  harrow.  Disk  the  land 
again  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring  and  stir  the 
soil  deeply  and  carefully  after  every  rain.  Sow 
thinly  in  the  fall  with  a  drill.  If  the  grain  is  too 
thick  in  the  spring,  harrow  it  out.  To  make  sure  of 
a  crop,  the  land  should  be  "summer  tilled,"  which 
means  that  clean  summer  fallow  should  be  practiced 
every  other  year,  or  as  often  as  may  be  necessary. 

These  methods,  with  the  exception  of  the  subsur- 


364  DRY-FARMING 

face  packing,  are  sound  and  in  harmony  with  the 
experience  of  the  great  dry-farm  sections  and  with 
the  principles  that  are  being  developed  by  scientific 
investigation.  The  "Campbell  system"  as  it  stands 
to-day  is  not  the  system  first  advocated  by  him. 
For  instance,  in  the  beginning  of  his  work  he  advo- 
cated sowing  grain  in  April  and  in  rows  so  far  apart 
that  spring  tooth  harrows  could  be  used  for  culti- 
vating between  the  rows.  This  method,  though 
successful  in  conserving  moisture,  is  too  expensive 
and  is  therefore  superseded  by  the  present  methods. 
Moreover,  his  farm  paper  of  1896,  containing  a  full 
statement  of  the  "Campbell  method,"  makes  abso- 
lutely no  mention  of  "summer  tillage,"  which  is 
now  the  very  keystone*  of  the  system.  These  and 
other  facts  make  it  evident  that  Mr.  Campbell  has 
very  properly  modified  his  methods  to  harmonize 
with  the  best  experience,  but  also  invalidate  tiie 
claim  that  he  is  the  author  of  the  dry-farm  system. 
A  weakness  of  the  "Campbell  system"  is  the  contin- 
ual insistence  upon  the  use  of  the  subsurface  packer. 
As  has  already  been  shown,  subsurface  packing  is  of 
questionable  value  for  successful  crop  production, 
and  if  valuable,  the  results  may  be  much  more  easily 
and  successfully  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  disk  and 
harrow  and  other  similar  implements  now  on  the 
market.  Perhaps  the  one  great  weakness  in  the 
work  of  Campbell  is  that  he  has  not  explained  the 
principles   underlying   his   practices.     His   publica- 


EXPERIMENT   STATIONS   AND    DRY-FARMING      365 

tions  only  hint  at  the  reasons.  H.  W.  Campbell, 
however,  has  done  much  to  popularize  the  subject 
of  dry-farming  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  others. 
His  persistence  in  his  work  of  gathering  facts,  writing, 
and  speaking  has  done  much  to  awaken  interest  in 
dry-farming.  He  has  been  as  "a  voice  in  the  wil- 
derness" who  has  done  much  to  make  possible  the 
later  and  more  systematic  study  of  dry-farming. 
High  honor  should  be  shown  him  for  his  faith  in  the 
semiarid  region,  for  his  keen  observation,  and  his 
persistence  in  the  face  of  difficulties.  He  is  justly 
entitled  to  be  ranked  as  one  of  the  great  workers  in 
behalf  of  the  reclamation,  without  irrigation,,  of  the 
rainless  sections  of  the  world. 

The  experiment  stations 

The  brave  pioneers  who  fought  the  relentless 
dryness  of  the  Great  American  Desert  from  the 
memorable  entrance  of  the  Mormon  pioneers  into 
the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  in  1847  were  not 
the  only  ones  engaged  in  preparing  the  way  for  the 
present  day  of  great  agricultural  endeavor.  Other, 
though  perhaps  more  indirect,  forces  were  also  at 
work  for  the  future  development  of  the  semiarid 
section.  The  Morrill  Bill  of  1862,  making  it  possible 
for  agricultural  colleges  to  be  created  in  the  various 
states  and  territories,  indicated  the  beginning  of  a 
public  feeling  that  modern  methods  should  be  applied 


366  DRY-FARMING 

to  the  work  of  the  farm.  The  passage  in  1887  of  the 
Hatch  Act,  creating  agricultural  experiment  stations 
in  all  of  the  states  and  territories,  finally  initiated 
a  new  agricultural  era  in  the  United  States.  With 
the  passage  of  this  bill,  stations  for  the  application  of 
modern  science  to  crop  production  were  for  the  first 
time  authorized  in  the  regions  of  limited  rainfall, 
with  the  exception  of  the  station  connected  with  the 
University  of  California,  where  Hilgard  from  1872 
had  been  laboring  in  the  face  of  great  difficulties 
upon  the  agricultural  problems  of  the  state  of  Cali- 
fornia. During  the  first  few  years  of  their  existence, 
the  stations  were  busy  finding  men  and  problems. 
The  problems  nearest  at  hand  were  those  that  had 
been  attacked  by  the  older  stations  founded  under 
an  abundant  rainfall  and  which  could  not  be  of  vital 
interest  to  arid  countries.  The  western  stations 
soon  began  to  attack  their  more  immediate  problems, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  the  question  of  producing 
crops  without  irrigation  on  the  great  unirrigated 
stretches  of  the  West  was  discussed  among  the 
station  staffs  and  plans  were  projected  for  a  study 
of  the  methods  of  conquering  the  desert. 

The  Colorado  Station  was  the  first  to  declare  its 
good  intentions  in  the  matter  of  dry-farming,  by 
inaugurating  definite  experiments.  By  the  action 
of  the  State  Legislature  of  1893,  during  the  time  of 
the  great  drouth,  a  substation  was  established  at 
Cheyenne  Wells,  near  the  west  border  of  the  state 


EXPERIMENT   STATIONS   AND   DRY-FARMING      367 

and  within  the  foothills  of  the  Great  Plains  area. 
From  the  summer  of  1894  until  1900  experiments 
were  conducted  on  this  farm.  The  experiments  were 
not  based  upon  any  definite  theory  of  reclamation, 
and  consequently  the  work  consisted  largely  of  the 


*  '  gv^ltfr 

Fig.  99.     Excursionists  to  dry-farm  demonstration,  Juab  Co.,  Utah,  sub- 
station, 1903. 


comparison  of  varieties,  when  soil  treatment  was  the 
all-important  problem  to  be  investigated.  True,  in 
1898,  a  trial  of  the  "Campbell  method"  was  under- 
taken. By  the  time  this  Station  had  passed  its 
pioneer  period  and  was  ready  to  enter  upon  more 
systematic  investigation,  it  was  closed.  Bulletin 
59  of  the  Colorado  Station,  published  in  1900  by 
J.  E.  Payne,  gives  a  summary  of  observations  made 
on  the  Cheyenne  Wells  substation  during  seven  years. 
This  bulletin  is  the  first  to  deal  primarily  with  the 
experimental  work  relating  to  dry-farming  in  the 


368  DRY-FARMING 

Great  Plains  area.  It  does  not  propose  or  outline 
any  system  of  reclamation.  Several  later  publica- 
tions of  the  Colorado  Station  deal  with  the  problems 
peculiar  to  the  Great  Plains. 

At  the  Utah  Station  the  possible  conquest  of  the 
sagebrush  deserts  of  the  Great  Basin  without  irriga- 
tion was  a  topic  of  common  conversation  during  the 
years  1894  and  1895.  In  1896  plans  were  presented 
for  experiments  on  the  principles  of  dry-farming. 
Four  years  later  these  plans  were  carried  into  effect. 
In  the  summer  of  1901,  the  author  and  L.  A.  Merrill 
investigated  carefully  the  practices  of  the  dry-farms 
of  the  state.  On  the  basis  of  these  observations  and 
by  the  use  of  the  established  principles  of  the  relation 
of  water  to  soils  and  plants,  a  theory  of  dry-farming 
was  worked  out  which  was  published  in  Bulletin  75 
of  the  Utah  Station  in  January,  1902.  This  is  prob- 
ably the  first  systematic  presentation  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  dry-farming.  A  year  later  the  Legislature 
of  the  state  of  Utah  made  provision  for  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  six  experimental  dry-farms 
to  investigate  in  different  parts  of  the  state  the  pos- 
sibility of  dry-farming  and  the  principles  under- 
lying the  art.  These  stations,  which  are  still  main- 
tained, have  done  much  to  stimulate  the  growth  of 
dry- farming  in  Utah.  The  credit  of  first  under- 
taking and  maintaining  systematic  experimental 
work  in  behalf  of  dry-farming  should  be  assigned  to 
the   state   of    Utah.     Since   dry-farm   experiments 


EXPERIMENT   STATION    HISTORY  369 

began  in  Utah  in  1901,  the  subject  has  been  a  lead- 
ing one  in  the  Station  and  the  College.  A  large  num- 
ber of  men  trained  at  the  Utah  Station  and  College 
have  gone  out  as  investigators  of  dry-farming  under 
state  and  Federal  direction. 

The  other  experiment  stations  in  the  arid  and  semi- 
arid  region  were  not  slow  to  take  up  the  work  for 
their  respective  states.  Fortier  and  Linfield,  who 
had  spent  a  number  of  years  in  Utah  and  had  become 
somewhat  familiar  with  the  dry-farm  practices  of 
that  state,  initiated  dry-farm  investigations  in 
Montana,  which  have  been  prosecuted  with  great 
vigor  since  that  time.  Vernon,  under  the  direction 
of  Foster,  who  had  spent  four  years  in  Utah  as 
Director  of  the  Utah  Station,  initiated  the  work  in 
New  Mexico.  In  Wyoming  the  experimental  study 
of  dry-farm  lands  began  by  the  private  enterprise 
of  H.  B.  Henderson  and  his  associates.  Later 
V.  T.  Cooke  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  work  under 
state  auspices,  and  the  demonstration  of  the  feasi- 
bility of  dry-farming  in  Wyoming  has  been  going  on 
since  about  1907.  Idaho  has  also  recently  under- 
taken dry-farm  investigations.  Nevada,  once  looked 
upon  as  the  only  state  in  the  Union  incapable  of 
producing  crops  without  irrigation,  is  demonstrating 
by  means  of  state  appropriations  that  large  areas 
there  are  suitable  for  dry-farming.  In  Arizona, 
small  tracts  in  this  sun-baked  state  are  shown  to 
be  suitable  for  dry-farm  lands.     The  Washington 

2b 


370  DRY-FARMIXG 

Station  is  investigating  the  problems  of  dry-farming 
peculiar  to  the  Columbia  Basin,  and  the  staff  of 
the  Oregon  Station  is  carrying  on  similar  work.  In 
Nebraska,  some  very  important  experiments  on  dry- 
farming  are  being  conducted.  In  North  Dakota 
there  were  in  1910  twenty-one  dry-farm  demon- 
stration farms.  In  South  Dakota,  Kansas,  and 
Texas,  provisions  are  similarly  made  for  dry-farm 
investigations.  In  fact,  up  and  down  the  Great 
Plains  area  there  are  stations  maintained  by  the 
state  or  Federal  government  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining the  methods  under  which  crops  can  be  pro- 
duced without  irrigation. 

At  the  head  of  the  Great  Plains  area  at  Saskatch- 
ewan one  of  the  oldest  dry-farm  stations  in  America 
is  located  (since  1888).  In  Russia  several  stations 
are  devoted  very  largely  to  the  problems  of  dry 
land  agriculture.  To  be  especially  mentioned  for 
the  excellence  of  the  work  done  are  the  stations  at 
Odessa,  Cherson,  and  Poltava.  This  last-named 
Station  has  been  established  since  1886. 

In  connection  with  the  work  done  by  the  experi- 
ment stations  should  be  mentioned  the  assistance 
given  by  the  railroads.  Man}'  of  the  railroads  own- 
ing land  along  their  respective  lines  are  greatly 
benefited  in  the  selling  of  these  lands  by  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  methods  whereby  the  lands  may  be 
made  productive.  However,  the  railroads  depend 
chiefly  for  their  success  upon  the  increased  prosperity 


THE   HISTORY   OF   DRY-FARMING 


371 


of  the  population  along  their  lines  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  assisting  the  settlers  in  the  arid  West  con- 
siderable sums  have  been  expended  by  the  railroads 
in  cooperation  with  the  stations  for  the  gathering  of 


100.     Using  treadmill  for  threshing  grain  from  small  plants  on  one 
of  the  Utah  experimental  dry-farms. 

information  of  value  in  the  reclamation  of  arid  lands 
without  irrigation. 

It  is  through  the  efforts  of  the  experiment  stations 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  day  has  been  reduced  to  a 
science  of  dry-farming.  Every  student  of  the  sub- 
ject admits  that  much  is  yet  to  be  learned  before  the 
last  word  has  been  said  concerning  the  methods  of 
dry-farming  in  reclaiming  the  waste  places  of  the 
earth.  The  future  of  dry-farming  rests  almost 
wholly  upon  the  energy  and  intelligence  with  which 


372  DRY-FARMING 

the  experiment  stations  in  this  and  other  countries 
of  the  world  shall  attack  the  special  problems  con- 
nected with  this  branch  of  agriculture. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

The  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  of  the  United 
States  was  given  a  secretaryship  in  the  President's 
Cabinet  in  1889.  With  this  added  dignity,  new  life 
was  given  to  the  department.  Under  the  direction 
of  J.  Sterling  Morton  preliminary  work  of  great  im- 
portance was  done.  Upon  the  appointment  of  James 
Wilson  as  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  the  department 
fairly  leaped  into  a  fullness  of  organization  for  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  agricultural  problems  of  the  coun- 
try. From  the  beginning  of  its  new  growth  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has  given 
some  thought  to  the  special  problems  of  the  semiarid 
region,  especially  that  part  within  the  Great  Plains. 
Little  consideration  was  at  first  given  to  the  far  West. 
The  first  method  adopted  to  assist  the  farmers  of 
the  plains  was  to  find  plants  with  drouth  resistant 
properties.  For  that  purpose  explorers  were  sent 
over  the  earth,  who  returned  with  great  numbers  of 
new  plants  or  varieties  of  old  plants,  some  of  which, 
such  as  the  durum  wheats,  have  shown  themselves 
of  great  value  in  American  agriculture.  The  Bureaus 
of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  Weather,  and  Chemistry  have 
all  from  the  first  given  considerable  attention  to  the 


THE   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  373 

problems  of  the  arid  region.  The  Weather  Bureau, 
long  established  and  with  perfected  methods,  has 
been  invaluable  in  guiding  investigators  into  regions 
where  experiments  could  be  undertaken  with  some 
hope  of  success.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  was 
somewhat  slow,  however,  in  recognizing  dry-farming 
as  a  system  of  agriculture  requiring  special  investiga- 
tion. The  final  recognition  of  the  subject  came  with 
the  appointment,  in  1905,  of  Chilcott  as  expert  in 
charge  of  dry-land  investigations.  At  the  present 
time  an  office  of  dry-land  investigations  has  been  estab- 
lished under  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  which  co- 
operates with  a  number  of  other  divisions  of  the 
Bureau  in  the  investigation  of  the  conditions  and 
methods  of  dry-farming.  A  large  number  of  sta- 
tions are  maintained  by  the  Department  over  the 
arid  and  semiarid  area  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
special  problems,  many  of  which  are  maintained 
in  connection  with  the  state  experiment  stations. 
Nearly  all  the  departmental  experts  engaged  in  dry- 
farm  investigation  have  been  drawn  from  the  service 
of  the  state  stations  and  in  these  stations  had  re- 
ceived their  special  training  for  their  work.  The 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has  chosen 
to  adopt  a  strong  conservatism  in  the  matter  of  dry- 
farming.  It  may  be  wise  for  the  Department,  as  the 
official  head  of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  coun- 
try, to  use  extreme  care  in  advocating  the  settlement 
of  a  region  in  which,  in  the  past,  farmers  had  failed 


374  DRY-FARMING 

to  make  a  living,  yet  this  conservatism  has  tended 
to  hinder  the  advancement  of  dry-farming  and  has 
placed  the  departmental  investigations  of  dry- 
farming  in  point  of  time  behind  the  pioneer  investi- 
gations of  the  subject. 

The  Dry-farming  Congress 

As  the  great  dry-farm  wave  swept  over  the  coun- 
try, the  need  was  felt  on  the  part  of  experts  and  lay- 
men of  some  means  whereby  dry-farm  ideas  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  could  be  exchanged.  Private 
individuals  by  the  thousands  and  numerous  state 
and  governmental  stations  were  working  separately 
and  seldom  had  a  chance  of  comparing  notes  and  dis- 
cussing problems.  A  need  was  felt  for  some  central 
dry-farm  organization.  An  attempt  to  fill  this  need 
was  made  by  the  people  of  Denver,  Colorado,  when 
Governor  Jesse  F.  McDonald  of  Colorado  issued  a 
call  for  the  first  Dry-farming  Congress  to  be  held  in 
Denver,  January  24,  25,  and  26,  1907.  These  dates 
were  those  of  the  annual  stock  show  which  had 
become  a  permanent  institution  of  Denver  and,  in 
fact,  some  of  those  who  were  instrumental  in  the 
calling  of  the  Dry-farming  Congress  thought  that  it 
was  a  good  scheme  to  bring  more  people  to  the  stock 
show.  To  the  surprise  of  many  the  Dry-farming 
Congress  became  the  leading  feature  of  the  week. 
Representatives  were  present  from  practically  all 


Fig.  101.     The  nature  of  the  country  to  be  reclaimed  in  Montana. 


376  DRY-FARMING 

the  states  interested  in  dry-farming  and  from  some 
of  the  humid  states.  Utah,  the  pioneer  dry-farm 
state,  was  represented  by  a  delegation  second  in 
size  only  to  that  of-  Colorado,  where  the  Congress  was 
held.  The  call  for  this  Congress  was  inspired,  in 
part  at  least,  by  real  estate  men,  who  saw  in  the  dry- 
farm  movement  an  opportunity  to  relieve  themselves 
of  large  areas  of  cheap  land  at  fairly  good  prices. 
The  Congress  proved,  however,  to  be  a  businesslike 
meeting  which  took  hold  of  the  questions  in  earnest, 
and  from  the  very  first  made  it  clear  that  the  real 
estate  agent  was  not  a  welcome  member  unless  he 
came  with  perfectly  honest  methods. 

The  second  Dry- farming  Congress  was  held  Jan- 
uary 22  to  25,  1908,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  under 
the  presidency  of  Fisher  Harris.  It  was  even  better 
attended  than  the  first.  The  proceedings  show  that 
it  was  a  Congress  at  which  the  dry-farm  experts  of 
the  country  stated  their  findings.  A  large  exhibit 
of  dry-farm  products  was  held  in  connection  with 
this  Congress,  wThere  ocular  demonstrations  of  the 
possibility  of  dry-farming  were  given  any  doubting 
Thomas. 

The  third  Dry-farming  Congress  was  held  Feb- 
ruary 23  to  25,  1909,  at  Cheyenne,  Wyoming,  under 
the  presidency  of  Governor  W.  W.  Brooks  of  Wyo- 
ming. An  unusually  severe  snowstorm  preceded  the 
Congress,  which  prevented  many  from  attending, 
yet  the  number  present  exceeded  that  at  any  of 


DRY-FARMING   CONGRESS  377 

the  preceding  Congresses.  This  Congress  was  made 
notable  by  the  number  of  foreign  delegates  who  had 
been  sent  by  their  respective  countries  to  investigate 
the  methods  pursued  in  America  for  the  reclamation 
of  the  arid  districts.  Among  these  delegates  were 
representatives  from  Canada,  Australia,  The  Trans- 
vaal, Brazil,  and  Russia. 

The  fourth  Congress  was  held  October  26  to  28, 
1909,  in  Billings,  Montana,  under  the  presidency  of 
Governor  Edwin  L.  Morris  of  Montana.  The  uncer- 
tain weather  of  the  winter  months  had  led  the  pre- 
vious Congress  to  adopt  a  time  in  the  autumn  as 
the  date  of  the  annual  meeting.  This  Congress 
became  a  session  at  which  many  of  the  principles 
discussed  during  the  three  preceding  Congresses 
were  crystallized  into  definite  statements  and  agreed 
upon  by  workers  from  various  parts  of  the  country. 
A  number  of  foreign  representatives  were  present 
again.  The  problems  of  the  Northwest  and  Canada 
were  given  special  attention.  The  attendance  was 
larger  than  at  any  of  the  preceding  Congresses. 

The  fifth  Congress  will  be  held  under  the  presidency 
of  Hon.  F.  W.  Mondell  of  Wyoming  at  Spokane, 
Washington,  during  October,  1910.  It  promises 
to  exceed  any  preceding  Congress  in  attendance 
and  interest. 

The  Dry-farming  Congress  has  made  itself  one 
of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  development  of 
methods   for   the   reclamation   of   the   desert.     Its 


378  DRY-FARMING 

published  reports  are  the  most  valuable  publications 
dealing  with  dry-land  agriculture.  Only  simple 
justice  is  done  when  it  is  stated  that  the  success  of 
the  Dry-farming  Congress  is  due  in  a  large  measure 
to  the  untiring  and  intelligent  efforts  of  John  T. 
Burns,  who  is  the  permanent  secretary  of  the  Con- 
gress, and  who  was  a  member  of  the  first  executive 
committee. 

Nearly  all  the  arid  and  semiarid  states  have 
organized  state  dry-farming  congresses.  The  first 
of  these  was  the  Utah  Dry-farming  Congress,  organ- 
ized about  two  months  after  the  first  Congress  held 
in  Denver.  The  president  is  L.  A.  Merrill,  one  of 
the  pioneer  dry-farm  investigators  of  the  Rockies. 

Jethro  Tull  {see  frontispiece) 

A  sketch  of  the  history  of  dry-farming  would  be 
incomplete  without  a  mention  of  the  life  and  work 
of  Jethro  Tull.  The  agricultural  doctrines  of  this 
man,  interpreted  in  the  light  of  modern  science,  are 
those  which  underlie  modern  dry-farming.  Jethro 
Tull  was  born  in  Berkshire,  England,  1674,  and 
died  in  1741.  He  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  but 
his  health  was  so  poor  that  he  could  not  practice  his 
profession  and  therefore  spent  most  of  his  life  in  the 
seclusion  of  a  quiet  farm.  His  life  work  was  done  in 
the  face  of  great  physical  sufferings.  In  spite  of 
physical  infirmities,  he  produced  a  system  of  agricul- 


THE    HISTORY   OF   DRY-FARMING  379 

ture  which,  viewed  in  the  light  of  our  modern  knowl- 
edge, is  little  short  of  marvelous.  The  chief  inspira- 
tion of  his  system  came  from  a  visit  paid  to  south 
of  France,  where  he  observed  "near  Frontignan  and 
Setts,  Languedoc"  that  the  vineyards  were  carefully 
plowed  and  tilled  in  order  to  produce  the  largest 
crops  of  the  best  grapes.  Upon  the  basis  of  this 
observation  he  instituted  experiments  upon  his  own 
farm  and  finally  developed  his  system,  which  may  be 
summarized  as  follows:  The  amount  of  seed  to  be 
used  should  be  proportional  to  the  condition  of  the 
land,  especially  to  the  moisture  that  is  in  it.  To 
make  the  germination  certain,  the  seed  should  be 
sown  by  drill  methods.  Tull,  as  has  already  been 
observed,  was  the  inventor  of  the  seed  drill  which 
is  now  a  feature  of  all  modern  agriculture.  Plow- 
ing should  be  done  deeply  and  frequently;  two 
plowings  for  one  crop  would  do  no  injury  and  fre- 
quently would  result  in  an  increased  yield.  Finally, 
as  the  most  important  principle  of  the  system,  the 
soil  should  be  cultivated  continually,  the  argument 
being  that  by  continuous  cultivation  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  would  be  increased,  the  water  would 
be  conserved,  and  as  the  soil  became  more  fertile 
less  water  would  be  used.  To  accomplish  such  culti- 
vation, all  crops  should  be  placed  in  rows  rather  far 
apart,  so  far  indeed  that  a  horse  carrying  a  culti- 
vator could  walk  between  them.  The  horse-hoeing 
idea  of  the  system  became  fundamental  and  gave 


380  DRY-FARMING 

the  name  to  his  famous  book,  "The  Horse  Hoeing 
Husbandry/'  by  Jethro  Tull,  published  in  parts  from 
1731  to  1741.  Tull  held  that  the  soil  between  the 
rows  was  essentially  being  fallowed  and  that  the 
next  year  the  seed  could  be  planted  between  the 
rows  of  the  preceding  year  and  in  that  way  the  fer- 
tility could  be  maintained  almost  indefinitely.  If 
this  method  were  not  followed,  half  of  the  soil  could 
lie  fallow  every  other  year  and  be  subjected  to  con- 
tinuous cultivation.  Weeds  consume  water  and 
fertility  and,  therefore,  fallowing  and  all  the  culture 
must  be  perfectly  clean.  To  maintain  fertility  a 
rotation  of  crops  should  be  practiced.  Wheat  should 
be  the  main  grain  crop ;  turnips  the  root  crop ;  and 
alfalfa  a  very  desirable  crop. 

It  may  be  observed  that  these  teachings  are  sound 
and  in  harmony  with  the  best  knowledge  of  to-day 
and  that  they  are  the  very  practices  which  are  now 
being  advocated  in  all  dry-farm  sections.  This  is 
doubly  curious  because  Tull  lived  in  a  humid  country. 
However,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  his  farm  consisted 
of  a  very  poor  chalk  soil,  so  that  the  conditions  under 
which  he  labored  were  more  nearly  those  of  an  arid 
country  than  could  ordinarily  be  found  in  a  country 
of  abundant  rainfall.  While  the  practices  of  Jethro 
Tull  were  in  themselves  very  good  and  in  general 
can  be  adopted  to-day,  yet  his  interpretation  of  the 
principles  involved  was  wrong.  In  view  of  the 
limited  knowledge  of  his  day,  this  was  only  to  be 


THE    HISTORY   OF   DRY-FARMING  381 

expected.  For  instance,  he  believed  so  thoroughly 
in  the  value  of  cultivation  of  the  soil,  that  he  thought 
it  would  take  the  place  of  all  other  methods  of  main- 
taining soil-fertility.  In  fact,  he  declared  distinctly 
that  "tillage  is  manure,"  which  we  are  very  certain 
at  this  time  is  fallacious.  Jethro  Tull  is  one  of  the 
great  investigators  of  the  world.  In  recognition 
of  the  fact  that,  though  living  two  hundred  years 
ago  in  a  humid  country,  he  was  able  to  develop 
the  fundamental  practices  of  soil  culture  now  used 
in  dry-farming,  the  honor  has  been  done  his  memory 
of  placing  his  portrait  as  the  frontispiece  of  this 
volume. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  DRY-FARMING 

It  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  correct  view  of  the  pres- 
ent status  of  dry-farming,  first,  because  dry- farm 
surveys  are  only  beginning  to  be  made  and,  secondly, 
because  the  area  under  dry-farm  cultivation  is  in- 
creasing daily  by  leaps  and  bounds.  All  arid  and 
semiarid  parts  of  the  world  are  reaching  out  after 
methods  of  soil  culture  whereby  profitable  crops 
may  be  produced  without  irrigation,  and  the  practice 
of  dry-farming,  according  to  modern  methods,  is 
now  followed  in  many  diverse  countries.  The  United 
States  undoubtedly  leads  at  present  in  the  area 
actually  under  dry-farming,  but,  in  view  of  the 
immense  dry-farm  districts  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  United  States  will  always 
maintain  its  supremacy  in  dry-farm  acreage.  The 
leadership  in  the  development  of  a  science  of  dry- 
farming  will  probably  remain  with  the  United  States 
for  years,  since  the  numerous  experiment  stations 
established  for  the  study  of  the  problems  of  farming 
without  irrigation  have  their  work  well  under  way, 
while,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  stations  in 
Russia  and  Canada,  no  other  countries  have  experi- 
ment stations  for  the  study  of  dry-farming  in  full 

382 


THE    PRESENT   STATUS   IN    CALIFORNIA  383 

operation.  The  reports  of  the  Dry-farming  Congress 
furnish  practically  the  only  general  information  as 
to  the  status  of  dry-farming  in  the  states  and  terri- 
tories of  the  United  States  and  in  the  countries  of 
the  world. 

California 

In  the  state  of  California  dry-farming  has  been 
firmly  established  for  more  than  a  generation.  The 
chief  crop  of  the  California  dry-farms  is  wheat, 
though  the  other  grains,  root  crops,  and  vegetables 
are  also  grown  without  irrigation  under  a  compara- 
tively small  rainfall.  The  chief  dry- farm  areas  are 
found  in  the  Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin  valleys. 
In  the  Sacramento  Valley  the  precipitation  is  fairly 
large,  but  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  it  is  very  small. 
Some  of  the  most  successful  dry-farms  of  California 
have  produced  well  for  a  long  succession  of  years 
under  a  rainfall  of  ten  inches  and  less.  California 
offers  a  splendid  example  of  the  great  danger  that 
besets  all  dry-farm  sections.  For  a  generation 
wheat  has  been  produced  on  the  fertile  Californian 
soils  without  manuring  of  any  kind.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  fertility  of  the  soils  has  been  so  far  de- 
pleted that  at  present  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  paying 
crops  without  irrigation  on  soils  that  formerly 
yielded  bountifully.  The  living  problem  of  the  dry- 
farms  in  California  is  the  restoration  of  the  fertility 
which  has  been  removed  from  the  soils  by  unwise 


384 


DRY-FARMING 


cropping.  All  other  dry-farm  districts  should  take 
to  heart  this  lesson,  for,  though  crops  may  be  pro- 
duced on  fertile  soils  for  one,  two,  or  even  three  gener- 
ations without  manuring,  yet  the  time  will  come 


Fig.  102.     Threshing  in  dry-farm  district  near  Moscow,  Idaho. 

when  plant-food  must  be  added  to  the  soil  in  return 
for  that  which  has  been  removed  by  the  crops. 
Meanwhile,  California  offers,  also,  an  excellent 
example  of  the  possibility  of  successful  dry-farming 
through  long  periods  and  under  varying  climatic 
conditions.  In  the  Golden  State  dry-farming  is  a 
fully  established  practice;  it  has  long  since  passed 
the  experimental  stage. 


Columbia  River  Basin 

The  Columbia  River   Basin  includes  the  state  of 
Washington,    most    of   Oregon,    the    northern   and 


THE    STATUS   IN   COLUMBIA   BASIN  385 

central  part  of  Idaho,  western  Montana,  and  extends 
into  British  Columbia.  It  includes  the  section  often 
called  the  Inland  Empire,  which  alone  covers  some 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles.  The 
chief  dry-farm  crop  of  this  region  is  wheat ;  in  fact, 
western  Washington  or  the  "Palouse  country"  is 
famous  for  its  wheat -producing  powers.  The  other 
grains,  potatoes,  roots,  and  vegetables  are  also  grown 
without  irrigation.  In  the  parts  of  this  dry-farm 
district  where  the  rainfall  is  the  highest,  fruits  of 
many  kinds  and  of  a  high  quality  are  grown  without 
irrigation.  It  is  estimated  that  at  least  two  million 
acres  are  being  dry-farmed  in  this  district.  Dry- 
farming  is  fully  established  in  the  Columbia  River 
Basin.  One  farmer  is  reported  to  have  raised  in  one 
year  on  his  own  farm  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
bushels  of  wheat.  In  one  section  of  the  district 
where  the  rainfall  for  the  last  few  years  has  been  only 
about  ten  or  eleven  inches,  wheat  has  been  produced 
successfully.  This  corroborates  the  experience  of 
California,  that  wheat  may  really  be  grown  in  local- 
ities where  the  annual  rainfall  is  not  above  ten  inches. 
The  most  modern  methods  of  dry-farming  are  fol- 
lowed by  the  farmers  of  the  Columbia  River  Basin, 
but  little  attention  has  been  given  to  soil-fertility, 
since  soils  that  have  been  farmed  for  a  generation 
still  appear  to  retain  their  high  productive  powers. 
Undoubtedly,  however,  in  this  district,  as  in  Cali- 
fornia, the  question  of  soil-fertility  will  be  an  impor- 

2c 


386  DRY-FARMING 

tant  one  in  the  near  future.    This  is  one  of  the  great 
dry-farm  districts  of  the  world. 

The  Great  Basin 

The  Great  Basin  includes  Nevada,  the  western 
half  of  Utah,  a  small  part  of  southern  Oregon  and 
Idaho,  and  also  a  part  of  Southern  California.  It  is 
a  great  interior  basin  with  all  its  rivers  draining  into 
salt  lakes  or  dry  sinks.  In  recent  geological  times 
the  Great  Basin  was  filled  with  water,  forming  the 
great  Lake  Bonneville  which  drained  into  the 
Columbia  River.  In  fact,  the  Great  Basin  is  made 
up  of  a  series  of  great  valleys,  with  very  level  floors, 
representing  the  old  lake  bottom.  On  the  bench 
lands  are  seen,  in  many  places,  the  effects  of  the  wave 
action  of  the  ancient  lake.  The  chief  dry-farm  crop 
of  this  district  is  wheat,  but  the  other  grains,  includ- 
ing corn,  are  also  produced  successfully.  Other 
crops  have  been  tried  with  fair  success,  but  not  on  a 
commercial  scale.  Grapevines  have  been  made  to 
grow  quite  successfully  without  irrigation  on  the 
bench  lands.  Several  small  orchards  bearing  lus- 
cious fruit  are  growing  on  the  deep  soils  of  the  Great 
Basin  without  the  artificial  application  of  water. 
Though  the  first  dry-farming  by  modern  peoples 
was  probably  practiced  in  the  Great  Basin,  yet  the 
area  at  present  under  cultivation  is  not  large,  pos- 
sibly a  little  more  than  four  hundred  thousand  acres. 


THE   STATUS   IN   THE   GREAT  BASIN 


387 


Dry-farming,  however,  is  well  established.  There 
are  large  areas,  especially  in  Nevada,  that  receive 
less  than  ten  inches  of  rainfall  annually,  and  one 
of  the  leading  problems  before  the  dry-farmers  of 
this  district  is  the  determination  of  the  possibility 


Fig.  103.     Dry-farm  Kubanka  wheat,  and  nature  of  country  near  Reno, 

Nevada. 


of  producing  crops  upon  such  lands  without  irriga- 
tion. On  the  older  dry-farms,  which  have  existed 
in  some  cases  from  forty  to  fifty  years,  there  are  no 
signs  of  diminution  of  soil-fertility.  Undoubtedly, 
however,  even  under  the  conditions  of  extremely 
high  fertility  prevailing  in  the  Great  Basin,  the  time 
will  soon  come  when  the  dry-farmer  must  make 
provision  for  restoring  to  the  soil  some  of  the  fertility 


388  DRY-FARMING 

taken  away  by  crops.  There  are  millions  of  acres 
in  the  Great  Basin  yet  to  be  taken  up  and  subjected 
to  the  will  of  the  dry-farmer. 

Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  River  Basins 

The  Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  River  Basins  include 
Arizona  and  the  western  part  of  New  Mexico.  The 
chief  dry-farm  crops  of  this  dry  district  are  wheat, 
corn,  and  beans.  Other  crops  have  also  been  grown 
in  small  quantities  and  with  some  success.  The  area 
suitable  for  dry-farming  in  this  district  has  not  yet 
been  fully  determined  and,  therefore,  the  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico  stations  are  undertaking  dry-farm  sur- 
veys of  their  respective  states.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  Arizona  is  generally  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
driest  states  of  the  Union,  dry-farming  is  making 
considerable  headway  there.  In  New  Mexico,  five 
sixths  of  all  the  homestead  applications  during  the 
last  year  were  for  dry-farm  lands;  and,  in  fact,  there 
are  several  prosperous  communities  in  New  Mexico 
which  are  subsisting  almost  wholly  on  dry-farming. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say,  however,  that  dry-farming  is 
not  yet  well  established  in  this  district,  but  that  the 
prospects  are  that  the  application  of  scientific  prin- 
ciples will  soon  make  it  possible  to  produce  profitable 
crops  without  irrigation  in  large  parts  of  the  Colorado 
and  Rio  Grande  River  Basins. 


THE    PRESENT   STATUS   OF   DRY-FARMING        389 

The  mountain  states 

This  district  includes  a  part  of  Montana,  nearly  the 
whole  of  Wyoming  and  Colorado,  and  part  of  eastern 
Idaho.  It  is  located  along  the  backbone  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  farms  are  located  chiefly  in  valleys 
and  on  large  rolling  table-lands.  The  chief  dry-farm 
crop  is  wheat,  though  the  other  crops  which  are  grown 
elsewhere  on  dry-farms  may  be  grown  here  also.  In 
Montana  there  is  a  very  large  area  of  land  which  has 
been  demonstrated  to  be  well  adapted  for  dry-farm 
purposes.  In  Wyoming,  especially  on  the  eastern 
'as  well  as  on  the  far  western  side,  dry-farming  has 
been  shown  to  be  successful,  but  the  area  covered  at 
the  present  time  is  comparatively  small.  In  Idaho, 
dry-farming  is  fairly  well  established.  In  Colorado, 
likewise,  the  practice  is  very  well  established  and  the 
area  is  tolerably  large.  All  in  all,  throughout  the 
mountain  states  dry-farming  may  be  said  to  be  well 
established,  though  there  is  a  great  opportunity  for 
the  extension  of  the  practice.  The  sparse  population 
of  the  western  states  naturally  makes  it  impossible 
for  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the  land  to  be  prop- 
erly cultivated. 

The  Great  Plains  Area 

This  area  includes  parts  of  Montana,  North  Dakota, 
South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Wyoming,  Colo- 


390 


DRY-FARMING 


rado;  New  Mexico,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas.  It  is  the 
largest  area  of  dry- farm  land  under  approximately 
uniform  conditions.  Its  drainage  is  into  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  it  covers  an  area  of  not  less  than  four  hun- 


Fig.  104.     View  of  the  30,000-acre  dry-farm  district  in   Cache  Valley, 
Utah.     The  part  at  the  left  of  the  fence  is  unreclaimed. 

dred  thousand  square  miles.  Dry-farm  crops  grow 
well  over  the  whole  area;  in  fact,  dry-farming  is  weD 
established  in  this  district.     In  spite  of  the  failures 


THE    PRESENT   STATUS   OF   DRY-FARMING        391 

so  widely  advertised  during  the  dry  season  of  1894, 
the  farmers  who  remained  on  their  farms  and  since 
that  time  have  employed  modern  methods  have  se- 
cured wealth  from  their  labors.  The  important  ques- 
tion before  the  farmers  of  this  district  is  that  of 
methods  for  securing  the  best  results.  From  the 
Dakotas  to  Texas  the  farmers  bear  the  testimony 
that  wherever  the  soil  has  been  treated  right,  accord- 
ing to  approved  methods,  there  have  been  no  crop 
failures. 

Canada 

Dry-farming  has  been  pushed  vigorously  in  the 
semiarid  portions  of  Canada,  and  with  great  success. 
Dry-farming  is  now  reclaiming  large  areas  of  formerly 
worthless  land,  especially  in  Alberta,  Saskatchewan, 
and  the  adjoining  provinces.  Dry-farming  is  com- 
paratively recent  in  Canada,  yet  here  and  there  are 
semiarid  localities  where  crops  have  been  raised 
without  irrigation  for  upwards  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. In  Alberta  and  other  places  it  has  been  now 
practiced  successfully  for  eight  or  ten  years,  and  it 
may  be  said  that  dry-farming  is  a  well-established 
practice  in  the  semiarid  regions  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada. 

Mexico 

In  Mexico,  likewise,  dry-farming  has  been  tried  and 
found  to  be  successful.     The  natives  of  Mexico  have 


392  DRY-FARMING 

practiced  farming  without  irrigation  for  centuries; 
and  modern  methods  are  now  being  applied  in  the 
zone  midway  between  the  extremely  dry  and  the 
extremely  humid  portions.  The  irregular  distribu- 
tion of  the  precipitation,  the  late  spring  and  early  fall 
frosts,  and  the  fierce  winds  combine  to  make  the  dry- 
farm  problem  somewhat  difficult,  yet  the  prospects 
are  that,  with  government  assistance,  dry-farming 
in  the  near  future  will  become  an  established  practice 
in  Mexico.  In  the  opinion  of  the  best  students  of 
Mexico  it  is  the  only  method  of  agriculture  that  can 
be  made  to  reclaim  a  very  large  portion  of  the  country. 

Brazil 

Brazil,  which  is  greater  in  area  than  the  United 
States,  also  has  a  large  arid  and  semiarid  territory 
which  can  be  reclaimed  only  by  dry-farm  methods. 
Through  the  activity  of  leading  citizens  experiments 
in  behalf  of  the  dry-farm  movement  have  already 
been  ordered.  The  dry-farm  district  of  Brazil  re- 
ceives an  annual  precipitation  of  about  twenty-five 
inches,  but  irregularly  distributed  and  under  a  tropi- 
cal sun.  In  the  opinion  of  those  who  are  familiar  with 
the  conditions,  the  methods  of  dry-farming  may  be  so 
adapted  as  to  make  dry-farming  successful  in  BraziL 


THE    FOREIGN   STATUS   OF   DRY-FARMING         393 

Australia 

Australia,  larger  than  the  continental  United 
States,  is  vitally  interested  in  dry-farming,  for  one 
third  of  its  vast  area  is  under  a  rainfall  of  less  than 
ten  inches,  and  another  third  is  under  a  rainfall  of 
between  ten  and  twenty  inches.  Two  thirds  of  the 
area  of  Australia,  if  reclaimed  at  all,  must  be  re- 
claimed by  dry-farming.  The  realization  of  this 
condition  has  led  several  Australians  to  visit  the 
United  States  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  methods 
employed  in  dry-farming.  The  reports  on  dry- 
farming  in  America  by  Surveyor-General  Straw- 
bridge  and  Senator  J.  H.  McColl  have  done  much  to 
initiate  a  vigorous  propaganda  in  behalf  of  dry- 
farming  in  Australia.  Investigation  has  shown  that 
occasional  farmers  are  found  in  Australia,  as  in 
America,  who  have  discovered  for  themselves  many 
of  the  methods  of  dry-farming  and  have  succeeded  in 
producing  crops  profitably.  Undoubtedly,  in  time, 
Australia  will  be  one  of  the  great  dry-farming  coun- 
tries of  the  world. 

Africa 

Up  to  the  present,  South  Africa  only  has  taken  an 
active  interest  in  the  dry-farm  movement,  due  to  the 
enthusiastic  labors  of  Dr.  William  Macdonald  of  the 
Transvaal.  The  Transvaal  has  an  average  annual 
precipitation  of  twenty-three  inches,  with  a  large 


394  DRY-FARMING 

district  that  receives  between  thirteen  and  twenty 
inches.  The  rain  comes  in  the  summer,  making  the 
conditions  similar  to  those  of  the  Great  Plains.  The 
success  of  dry-farming  has  already  been  practically 
demonstrated.  The  question  before  the  Transvaal 
farmers  is  the  determination  of  the  best  application 
of  water  conserving  methods  under  the  prevailing 
conditions.  Under  proper  leadership  the  Transvaal 
and  other  portions  of  Africa  will  probably  join  the 
ranks  of  the  larger  dry-farming  countries  of  the  world. 

Russia 

More  than  one  fourth  of  the  whole  of  Russia  is  so 
dry  as  to  be  reclaimable  only  by  dry-farming.  The 
arid  area  of  southern  European  Russia  has  a  climate 
very  much  like  that  of  the  Great  Plains.  Turkestan 
and  middle  Asiatic  Russia  have  a  climate  more  like 
that  of  the  Great  Basin.  In  a  great  number  of  lo- 
calities in  both  European  and  Asiatic  Russia  dry- 
farming  has  been  practiced  for  a  number  of  years. 
The  methods  employed  have  not  been  of  the  most 
refined  kind,  due,  possibly,  to  the  condition  of  the 
people  constituting  the  farming  class.  The  govern- 
ment is  now  becoming  interested  in  the  matter  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  dry-farming  will  also  be  prac- 
ticed on  a  very  large  scale  in  Russia. 


396 


DRY-FARMING 


Turkey 

Turkey  has  also  a  large  area  of  arid  land  and,  due  to 
American  assistance,  experiments  in  dry-farming  are 
being  carried  on  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  It 
is  interesting  to  learn  that  the  experiments  there,  up 


Fig.  106.     Dry-farm  olive  orchards  near  Sfax,  Tunis,  Northern  Africa. 


THE    STATUS   OF   DRY-FARMING   ABROAD  397 

to  date,  have  been  eminently  successful  and  that  the 
prospects  now  are  that  modern  dry-farming  will  soon 
be  conducted  on  a  large  scale  in  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

Palestine 

The  whole  of  Palestine  is  essentially  arid  and  semi- 
arid  and  dry-farming  there  has  been  practiced  for  cen- 
turies. With  the  application  of  modern  methods  it 
should  be  more  successful  than  ever  before.  Dr. 
Aaronsohn  states  that  the  original  wild  wheat  from 
which  the  present  varieties  of  wheat  have  descended 
has  been  discovered  to  be  a  native  of  Palestine. 

China 

China  is  also  interested  in  dry-farming.  The  cli- 
mate of  the  drier  portions  of  China  is  much  like  that 
of  the  Dakotas.  Dry-farming  there  is  of  high  antiq- 
uity, though,  of  course,  the  methods  are  not  those 
that  have  been  developed  in  recent  years.  Under 
the  influence  of  the  more  modern  methods  dry-farm- 
ing should  spread  extensively  throughout  China  and 
become  a  great  source  of  profit  to  the  empire.  The 
results  of  dry-farming  in  China  are  among  the  best. 

These  countries  have  been  mentioned  simply  be- 
cause they  have  been  represented  at  the  recent  Dry- 
farming  Congresses.  Nearly  all  of  the  great  coun- 
tries of  the  world  having  extensive  semiarid  areas  are 


398  DRY-FARMING 

directly  interested  in  dry-farming.  The  map  on  pages 
30  and  31  shows  that  more  than  oo  per  cent  of  the 
world's  surface  receives  an  annual  rainfall  of  less 
than  twenty  inches.  Dry-farming  is  a  world  prob- 
lem and  as  such  is  being  received  by  the  nations. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE   YEAR  OF   DROUTH 


The  Shadow  of  the  Year  of  Drouth  still  obscures 
the  hope  of  many  a  dry-farmer.  From  the  magazine 
page  and  the  public  platform  the  prophet  of  evil, 
thinking  himself  a  friend  of  humanity,  solemnly  warns 
against  the  arid  region  and  dry-farming,  for  the  year 
of  drouth,  he  says,  is  sure  to  come  again  and  then  will 
be  repeated  the  disasters  of  1893-1895.  Beware  of 
the  year  of  drouth.  Even  successful  dry-farmers  who 
have  obtained  good  crops  every  year  for  a  generation 
or  more  are  half  led  to  expect  a  dry  year  —  one  so 
dry  that  crops  will  fail  in  spite  of  all  human  effort. 
The  question  is  continually  asked,  "Can  crop  yields 
reasonably  be  expected  every  year,  through  a  suc- 
cession of  dry  years,  under  semiarid  conditions,  if 
the  best  methods  of  dry-farming  be  practiced?"  In 
answering  this  question,  it  may  be  said  at  the  very 
beginning,  that  when  the  year  of  drouth  is  mentioned 
in  connection  with  dry-farming,  sad  reference  is  al- 
ways made  to  the  experience  on  the  Great  Plains  in 
the  early  years  of  the  '90's.  Now  the  fact  of  the 
matter  is,  that  while  the  years  of  1893,  1894,  and  1895 
were  dry  years,  the  only  complete  failure  came  in 
1894.    In  spite  of  the  improper  methods  practiced  by 


400  DRY-FARMING 

the  settlers,  the  willing  soil  failed  to  yield  a  erop  onty 
one  year.  Moreover,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
hundreds  of  farmers  in  the  driest  section  during  this 
dry  period,  who  instinctively  or  otherwise  farmed 
more  nearly  right,  obtained  good  crops  even  in  1894. 
The  simple  practice  of  summer  fallowing,  had  it  been 
practiced  the  year  before,  would  have  insured  satis- 
factory crops  in  the  driest  year.  Further,  the  set- 
tlers who  did  not  take  to  their  heels  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  dry  year  are  still  living  in  large  numbers  on 
their  homesteads  and  in  numerous  instances  have 
accumulated  comfortable  fortunes  from  the  land 
which  has  been  held  up  so  long  as  a  warning  against 
settlement  beyond  a  humid  climate.  The  failure  of 
1894  was  due  as  much  to  a  lack  of  proper  agricultural 
information  and  practice  as  to  the  occurrence  of  a 
dry  year. 

Next,  the  statement  is  carelessly  made  that  the 
recent  success  in  dry-farming  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
we  are  now  living  in  a  cycle  of  wet  years,  but  that  as 
soon  as  the  cycle  of  dry  years  strikes  the  country  dry- 
farming  will  vanish  as  a  dismal  failure.  Then,  again, 
the  theory  is  proposed  that  the  climate  is  permanently 
changing  toward  wetness  or  dryness  and  the  past  has 
no  meaning  in  reading  the  riddle  of  the  future.  It  is 
doubtless  true  that  no  man  may  safely  predict  the 
weather  for  future  generations:  yet.  so  far  as  human 
knowledge  goes,  there  is  no  perceptible  average 
change  in  the  climate  from  period  to  period  within 


402  DRY-FARMING 

historical  time;  neither  are  there  protracted  dry 
periods  followed  by  protracted  wet  periods.  The 
fact  is,  dry  and  wet  jqslvs  alternate.  A  succession  of 
somewhat  wet  years  may  alternate  with  a  succession 
of  somewhat  dry  years,  but  the  average  precipitation 
from  decade  to  decade  is  very  nearly  the  same. 
True,  there  will  always  be  a  dry  year,  that  is,  the 
driest  year  of  a  series  of  years,  and  this  is  the  sup- 
posedly fearful  and  fateful  year  of  drouth.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  dry-farmer  is  always  to  farm  so  as  to  be 
prepared  for  this  driest  year  whenever  it  comes.  If 
this  be  done,  the  farmer  will  always  have  a  crop :  in 
the  wet  years  his  crop  will  be  large ;  in  the  driest  year 
it  will  be  sufficient  to  sustain  him. 

So  persistent  is  the  half-expressed  fear  that  this 
driest  year  makes  it  impossible  to  rely  upon  dry- 
farming  as  a  permanent  system  of  agriculture  that  a 
search  has  been  made  for  reliable  long  records  of  the 
production  of  crops  in  arid  and  semiarid  regions. 
Public  statements  have  been  made  by  many  perfectly 
reliable  men  to  the  effect  that  crops  have  been  pro- 
duced in  diverse  sections  over  long  periods  of  years, 
some  as  long  as  thirty-five  or  forty  years,  without  one 
failure  having  occurred.  Most  of  these  statements, 
however,  have  been  general  in  their  nature  and  not 
accompanied  by  the  exact  yields  from  year  to  year. 
Only  three  satisfactory  records  have  been  found  in  a 
somewhat  careful  search.     Others  no  doubt  exist. 


A   DROUTH-RESISTING   FARM  403 

The  Barnes  farm 

The  first  record  was  made  by  Senator  J.  G.  M. 
Barnes  of  Kaysville,  Utah.  Kaysville  is  located  in 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  Valley,  about  fifteen  miles  north 


Fig.  108.     Field  of  dry-farm  wheat.     Utah  1909. 

of  Salt  Lake  City.    The  climate  is  semiarid ;  the  pre- 
cipitation comes  mainly  in  the  winter  and  early  spring ; 


404  DRY-FARMING 

the  summers  are  dry,  and  the  evaporation  is  large. 
Senator  Barnes  purchased  ninety  acres  of  land  in  the 
spring  of  1887  and  had  it  farmed  under  his  own  su- 
pervision until  1906.  He  is  engaged  in  commercial 
enterprises  and  did  not,  himself,  do  any  of  the  work 
on  the  farm,  but  employed  men  to  do  the  neces- 
sary labor.  However,  he  kept  a  close  supervision 
of  the  farm  and  decided  upon  the  practices  which 
should  be  followed.  From  seventy-eight  to  eighty- 
nine  acres  were  harvested  for  each  crop,  with  the 
exception  of  1902,  when  all  but  about  twenty  acres 
was  fired  by  sparks  from  the  passing  railroad  train. 
The  plowing,  harrowing,  and  weeding  were  done  very 
carefully.  The  complete  record  of  the  Barnes  dry- 
farm  from  1887  to  1905  is  shown  in  the  table  on 
the  following  page. 

The  first  plowing  was  given  the  farm  in  May  of 
1887,  and,  with  the  exception  of  1902,  the  land  was 
invariably  plowed  in  the  spring.  With  fall  plowing 
the  yields  would  undoubtedly  have  been  better. 
The  first  sowing  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1887,  and  fall 
grain  was  grown  during  the  whole  period  of  observa- 
tion. The  seed  sown  in  the  fall  of  1887  came  up  well, 
but  was  winter-killed.  This  is  ascribed  by  Senator 
Barnes  to  the  very  dry  winter,  though  it  is  probable 
that  the  soil  was  not  sufficiently  well  stored  with 
moisture  to  carry  the  crop  through.  The  farm  was 
plowed  again  in  the  spring  of  1888,  and  another  crop 
sown  in  September  of  the  same  year.     In  the  summer 


THE    YEAR   OF   DROUTH 


405 


Record  of  the  Barnes  Dry-farm,  Salt  Lake  Valley. 


Utah  (90 

acres) 

Annual 

Yield 

When 
Plowed 

Year 

Rainfall 

per  Acre 

When  Sown 

(Inches) 

(Bu.) 

1887 

11.66 

— 

May 

Sept. 

1888 

13.62 

Failure 

May 

Sept. 

1889 

18.46 

225 

— 

Volunteer1 

1890 

10.33 

155 

— 

— 

1891 

15.92 

Fallow 

May 

Fall 

1892 

14.08 

19.3 

— 

1893 

17.35 

Fallow 

May 

Fall 

1894 

15.27 

26.0 

— 

— 

1895 

11.95 

Fallow 

May 

Aug. 

1896 

18.42 

22.0 

— 

— 

1897 

16.74 

Fallow 

Spring 

Fall 

1898 

16.09 

26.0 

— 

— 

1899 

17.57 

Fallow 

May 

Fall 

1900 

11.53 

23.5 

— 

— 

1901 

16.08 

Fallow 

Spring 

Fall 

1902 

11.41 

28.9 

Sept. 

Fall 

1903 

14.62 

12.5 

— 

— 

1904 

16.31 

Fallow 

Spring 

Fall 

1905 

14.23 

25.8 

— 

— 

of  1889,  22J  bushels  of  wheat  were  harvested  to  the 
acre.  Encouraged  by  this  good  crop  Mr.  Barnes  al- 
lowed a  volunteer  crop  to  grow  that  fall  and  the  next 
summer  harvested  as  a  result  15 J  bushels  of  wheat 
to-  the  acre.  The  table  shows  that  only  one  crop 
smaller  than  this  was  harvested  during  the  whole 

1  About  four  acres  were  sown  on  stubble. 


406  DRY-FARMING 

period  of  nineteen  years,  namely,  in  1903,  when  the 
same  thing  was  done,  and  one  crop  was  made  to  follow 
another  without  an  intervening  fallow  period.  This 
observation  is  an  evidence  in  favor  of  clean  summer 
fallowing.  The  largest  crop  obtained,  28.9  bushels 
per  acre  in  1902,  was  gathered  in  a  year  when  the  next 
to  the  lowest  rainfall  of  the  whole  period  occurred, 
namely,  11.41  inches. 

The  precipitation  varied  during  the  nineteen  years 
from  10.33  inches  to  18.46  inches.  The  variation  in 
yield  per  acre  was  considerably  less  than  this,  not 
counting  the  two  crops  that  were  grown  immediately 
after  another  crop.  All  in  all,  the  unique  record  of  the 
Barnes  dry-farm  shows  that  through  a  period  of  nine- 
teen years,  including  dry  and  comparatively  wet 
years,  there  was  absolutely  no  sign  of  failure,  except 
in  the  first  year,  when  probably  the  soil  had  not  been 
put  in  proper  condition  to  support  crops.  In  pass- 
ing it  maybe  mentioned  that,  according  to  the  records 
furnished  by  Senator  Barnes,  the  total  cost  of  operat- 
ing the  farm  during  the  nineteen  years  was  84887.69 ; 
the  total  income  was  810,144.83.  The  difference, 
85257.14.  is  a  very  fair  profit  on  the  investment  of 
$1800  —  the  original  cost  of  the  farm. 

The  Indian  Head  farm 

An  equally  instructive  record  is  furnished  by  the 
experimental  farm  located  at  Indian  Head  in  Sas- 
katchewan, Canada,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Great 


A   DROUTH-RESISTING   FARM 


407 


Fig.  109.     Carting  macaroni  wheat  to  the  wharves  in  southern  Russia. 

Plains  area.  According  to  Alway,  the  country  is  in 
appearance  very  much  like  western  Nebraska  and 
Kansas;  the  climate  is  distinctly  arid,  and  the  pre- 
cipitation comes  mainly  in  the  spring  and  summer. 
It  is  the  only  experimental  dry-farm  in  the  Great 
Plains  area  with  records  that  go  back  before  the  dry 
years  of  the  early  '90's.  In  1882  the  soil  of  this  farm 
was  broken,  and  it  was  farmed  continuously  until  1888, 


408 


DRY-FARMING 


when  it  was  made  an  experimental  farm  under  gov* 
ernment  supervision.  The  following  table  shows  the 
yields  obtained  from  the  year  1891,  when  the  pre- 
cipitation records  were  first  kept,  to  1909 :  — 

Record    of   Indian    Head    Experimental   Farm   and 
Motherwell's  Farm,  Saskatchewan,  Canada 


Bushels  of  Wheat 

Annual 
Rainfall 
(Inches)1 

per  Acre 

Bushels  of  Wheat 

Year 

Experimental  Farm 

per  Acre 
Motherwell's 

Farm 

Fallow 

Stubble 

1891 

14.03 

35 

32 

30 

1892 

6.92 

28 

21 

28 

1893 

10.11 

35 

22 

34 

1894 

3.90 

17 

9 

24 

1895 

12.28 

41 

22 

26 

1896 

10.59 

39 

29 

31 

1897 

14.62 

33 

26 

35 

1898 

18.03 

32 

— 

27 

1899 

9.44 

33 

— 

33 

1900 

11.74 

17 

5 

25 

1901 

20.22 

49 

38 

51 

1902 

10.73 

38 

22 

28 

1903 

15.55 

35 

15 

31 

1904 

11.96 

40 

29 

35 

1905 

19.17 

42 

18 

36 

1906 

13.21 

26 

13 

38 

1907 

15.03 

18 

18 

15 

1908 

13.17 

29 

14 

16 

1909 

13.96 

28 

15 

23 

Average 


32.4 


20.5 


1  Snowfall  not  included.    This  has  varied  from  2.3   to   1.3 
inches  of  water. 


THE   FARM   AT   INDIAN   HEAD 


409 


The  annual  rainfall  shown  in  the  second  column 
does  not  include  the  water  which  fell  in  the  form  of 
snow.  According  to  the  records  at  hand,  the  annual 
snow  fall  varied  from  2.3  to  1.3  inches  of  water,  which 
should  be  added  to  the  rainfall  given  in  the  table. 


Fig.  110. 


View  of  Palouse  wheat  district,   showing  rolling  nature  of 
country. 


Even  with  this  addition  the  rainfall  shows  the  dis- 
trict to  be  of  a  distinctly  semiarid  character.  It  will 
be  observed  that  the  precipitation  varied  from  3.9 
to  20.22  inches,  and  that  during  the  early  '90's  several 
rather  dry  years  occurred.  In  spite  of  this  large 
variation  good  crops  have  been  obtained  during  the 
whole  period  of  nineteen  years.  Not  one  failure  is 
recorded.    The  lowest  yield  of  17  bushels  per  acre 


410  DRY-FARMING 

came  during  the  very  dry  year  of  1894  and  during  the 
somewhat  dry  year  of  1900.  Some  of  the  largest 
yields  were  obtained  in  seasons  when  the  rainfall  was 
only  near  the  average.  As  a  record  showing  that  the 
year  of  drouth  need  not  be  feared  when  dry-farming 
is  done  right,  this  table  is  of  v  ry  high  interest.  It 
may  be  noted,  incidentally,  that  throughout  the  whole 
period  wheat  following  a  fallow  always  yielded 
higher  than  wheat  following  the  stubble.  For  the 
nineteen  years,  the  difference  was  as  32.4  bushels  is 
to  20.5  bushels. 

The  Motherwell  farm 

In  the  last  column  of  the  table  are  shown  the  annual 
yields  of  wheat  obtained  on  the  farm  of  Commissioner 
Motherwell  of  the  province  of  Saskatchewan.  This 
private  farm  is  located  some  twenty-five  miles  away 
from  Indian  Head,  and  the  rainfall  records  of  the  ex- 
perimental farm  are,  therefore,  only  approximately 
accurate  for  the  Motherwell  farm.  The  results  on  this 
farm  may  well  be  compared  to  the  Barnes  results  of 
Utah,  since  they  were  obtained  on  a  private  farm. 
During  the  period  of  nineteen  years  good  crops  were 
invariably  obtained ;  even  during  the  very  dry  year 
of  1894,  a  yield  of  twenty-four  bushels  of  wheat  to  the 
acre  was  obtained.  Curiously  enough,  the  lowest 
yields  of  fifteen  and  sixteen  bushels  to  the  acre  were 
obtained  in  1907  and  1908  when  the  precipitation  was 


DROUTH-RESISTING    FARMS  411 

fairly  good,  and  must  be  ascribed  to  some  other  factor 
than  that  of  precipitation.  The  record  of  this  farm 
shows  conclusively  that  with  proper  farming  there  is 
no  need  to  fear  the  year  of  drouth. 

The  Utah  drouth  of  1910 

During  the  year  of  1910  only  2.7  inches  of  rain  fell 
in  Salt  Lake  City  from  March  1  to  the  July  harvest, 
and  all  of  this  in  March,  as  against  7.18  inches  dur- 
ing the  same  period  the  preceding  year.  In  other 
parts  of  the  state  much  less  rain  fell ;  in  fact,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  state  the  last  rain  fell  during 
the  last  week  of  December,  1909.  The  drouth  re- 
mained unbroken  until  long  after  the  wheat  har- 
vests. Great  fear  was  expressed  that  the  dry-farms 
could  riot  survive  so  protracted  a  period  of  drouth. 
Agents,  sent  out  over  the  various  dry-farm  districts, 
reported  late  in  June  that  wherever  clean  summer 
fallowing  had  been  practiced  the  crops  were  in  excel- 
lent condition;  but  that  wherever  careless  methods 
had  been  practiced,  the  crops  were  poor  or  killed. 
The  reports  of  the  harvest  in  July  of  1910  showed 
that  fully  85  per  cent  of  an  average  crop  was  obtained 
in  spite  of  the  protracted  drouth  wherever  the  soil 
came  into  the  spring  well  stored  with  moisture,  and 
in  many  instances  full  crops  were  obtained. 

Over  the  whole  of  the  dry-farm  territory  of  the 
United  States  similar  conditions  of  drouth  occurred. 


412  DRY-FARMING 

After  the  harvest,  however,  every  state  reported 
that  the  crops  were  well  up  to  the  average  wherever 
correct  methods  of  culture  had  been  employed. 

These  well-authenticated  records  from  true  semi- 
arid  districts,  covering  the  two  chief  types  of  winter 
and  summer  precipitation,  prove  that  the  year  of 
drouth,  or  the  driest  year  in  a  twenty-year  period, 
does  not  disturb  agricultural  conditions  seriously  in 
localities  where  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
not  too  low,  and  where  proper  cultural  methods  are 
followed.  That  dry-farming  is  a  system  of  agricul- 
tural practice  which  requires  the  application  of  high 
skill  and  intelligence  is  admitted ;  that  it  is  precarious 
is  denied.  The  year  of  drouth  is  ordinarily  the  year 
in  which  the  man  failed  to  do  properly  his  share  of  the 
work 


CHAPTER  XX 

DRY-FARMING  IN  A  NUTSHELL 

Locate  the  dry-farm  in  a  section  with  an  annual 
precipitation  of  more  than  ten  inches  and,  if  possible, 
with  small  wind  movement.  One  man  with  four 
horses  and  plenty  of  machinery  cannot  handle  more 
than  from  160  to  200  acres.  Farm  fewer  acres  and 
farm  them  better. 

Select  a  clay  loam  soil.  Other  soils  may  be  equally 
productive,  but  are  cultivated  properly  with  some- 
what more  difficulty. 

Make  sure,  with  the  help  of  the  soil  auger,  that 
the  soil  is  of  uniform  structure  to  a  depth  of  at  least 
eight  feet.  If  streaks  of  loose  gravel  or  layers  of 
hardpan  are  near  the  surface,  water  may  be  lost  to 
the  plant  roots. 

After  the  land  has  been  cleared  and  broken  let  it 
lie  fallow  with  clean  cultivation,  for  one  year.  The 
increase  in  the  first  and  later  crops  will  pay  for  the 
waiting. 

Always  plow  the  land  early  in  the  fall,  unless  abun- 
dant experience  shows  that  fall  plowing  is  an  unwise 
practice  in  the  locality.  Always  plow  deeply  unless 
the  subsoil  is  infertile,  in  which  case  plow  a  little 

413 


414  DRY-FARMING 

deeper  each  year  until  eight  or  ten  inches  are  reached. 
Plow  at  least  once  for  each  crop.  Spring  plowing, 
if  practiced,  should  be  done  as  early  as  possible  in 
the  season. 

Follow  the  plow,  whether  in  the  fall  or  spring,  with 
the  disk  and  that  with  the  smoothing  harrow,  if  crops 
are  to  be  sown  soon  afterward.  If  the  land  plowed 
in  the  fall  is  to  lie  fallow  for  the  winter,  leave  it  in  the 
rough  condition,  except  in  localities  where  there  is 
little  or  no  snow  and  the  winter  temperature  is  high. 

Always  disk  the  land  in  early  spring,  to  prevent 
evaporation.  Follow  the  disk  with  the  harrow. 
Harrow,  or  in  some  other  way  stir  the  surface  of  the 
soil  after  every  rain.  If  crops  are  on  the  land,  har- 
row as  long  as  the  plants  will  stand  it.  If  hoed  crops, 
like  corn  or  potatoes,  are  grown,  use  the  cultivator 
throughout  the  season.  A  deep  mulch  or  dry  soil 
should  cover  the  land  as  far  as  possible  throughout 
the  summer.  Immediately  after  harvest  disk  the 
soil  thoroughly. 

Destroy  weeds  as  soon  as  they  show  themselves. 
A  weedy  dry-farm  is  doomed  to  failure. 

Give  the  land  an  occasional  rest,  that  is,  a  clean 
summer  fallow.  Under  a  rainfall  of  less  than  fifteen 
inches,  the  land  should  be  summer  fallowed  every 
other  year;  under  an  annual  rainfall  of  fifteen  to 
twenty  inches,  the  summer  fallow  should  occur  every 
third  or  fourth  year.  Where  the  rainfall  comes 
chiefly  in  the  summer,  the  summer  fallow  is  less  im- 


DRY-FARMING   IN   A   NUTSHELL 


415 


portant  in  ordinary  years  than  where  the  summers 
are  dry  and  the  winters  wet.  Only  an  absolutely 
clean  fallow  should  be  permitted. 

The  fertility  of  dry-farm  soils  must  be  maintained. 
Return  the  manure;   plow  under  green  leguminous 


Fig.  111.     Homeward  bound. 


Sagebrush  in  foreground;  dry-farms  in  the 
distance. 


crops  occasionally  and  practice  rotation.  On  fertile 
soils  plants  mature  with  the  least  water. 

Sow  only  by  the  drill  method.  Wherever  possible 
use  fall  varieties  of  crops.  Plant  deeply  —  three  or 
four  inches  for  grain.  Plant  early  in  the  fall,  espe- 
cially if  the  land  has  been  summer  fallowed.  Use  only 
about  one  half  as  much  seed  as  is  recommended  for 
humid-farming. 

All  the  ordinary  crops  may  be  grown  by  dry-farm- 
ing. Secure  seed  that  has  been  raised  on  dry-farms. 
Look  out  for  new  varieties,  especially  adapted  for 
dry- farming,  that  may  be  brought  in.  Wheat  is 
king  in  dry-farming;  corn  a  close  second.  Turkey 
wheat  promises  the  best. 


416  DRY-FARMING 

Stock  the  dry-farm  with  the  best  modern  machin- 
ery. Dry-farming  is  possible  only  because  of  the 
modern  plow,  the  disk,  the  drill  seeder,  the  harvester, 
the  header,  and  the  thresher. 

Make  a  home  on  the  dry-farm.  Store  the  flood 
waters  in  a  reservoir,  or  pump  the  underground 
waters,  for  irrigating  the  family  garden.  Set  out 
trees,  plant  flowers,  and  keep  some  live  stock. 

Learn  to  understand  the  reasons  back  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  dry-farming,  apply  the  knowledge  vigor- 
ously, and  the  crop  cannot  fail. 

Always  farm  as  if  a  year  of  drouth  were  coming. 

Man,  by  his  intelligence,  compels  the  laws  of  nature 
to  do  his  bidding,  and  thus  he  achieves  joy. 

"And  God  blessed  them  —  and  God  said  unto 
them,  Be  fruitful  and  multiply  and  replenish  the 
earth,  and  subdue  it." 


APPENDIX   A 

A  PARTIAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF   THE   LIT- 
ERATURE  OF  DRY-FARMING 

1897 

Some  Interesting  Soil  Problems.  Milton  Whitney. 
Yearbook,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
1897,  page  429. 

1900 

The  Plains.  J.  E.  Payne.  Bulletin  59,  Colorado 
Experiment  Station. 

Successful  Wheat  Growing  in  Semiarid  Districts. 
M.  A.  Carleton.  Yearbook,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  1900,  page  529. 

1901 

Macaroni  Wheats.  M.  A.  Carleton.  Bulletin 
No.  3,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

Emmer :  A  Grain  for  the  Semiarid  Regions. 
M.  A.  Carleton.  Farmers'  Bulletin  139,  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture. 

1902 

Arid-farming    or  Dry-farming.     J.    A.    Widtsoe 

and  L.  A.  Merrill.  Bulletin  75,  Utah  Experiment 
Station. 

2e  417 


413  APPENDIX   A 

The  Algerian  Durum  Wheats :  A  Classified  List, 
with  Descriptions.  C.  S.  Scofield.  Bulletin  Xo.  7, 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

1903 

Investigation  of  the  Great  Plains  and  Unirrigated 
Lands  of  Eastern  Colorado :  Seven  Years  Study. 
J.  E.  Payne.  Bulletin  77,  Colorado  Experiment 
Station. 

The  Description  of  Wheat  Varieties.  C.  S.  Scofield. 
Bulletin  Xo.  47,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

1905 

Macaroni  Wheats.  T.  L.  Lyon.  Bulletin  XTo.  78, 
Nebraska  Experiment  Station. 

Report  of  the  Edgley  Substation.  Xorth  Dakota 
Experiment  Station. 

The  Thorough  Tillage  System  for  the  Plains  of 
Colorado.  W.  H.  Olin.  Bulletin  103,  Colorado 
Experiment  Station. 

Agriculture  without  Irrigation  in  the  Sahara 
Desert.  T.  H.  Kearney.  Bulletin  Xo.  86,  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Macaroni  Wheat :  Its  Milling  and  Chemical 
Characteristics  and  Its  Adaptation  for  Making 
Bread  and  Macaroni.  J.  H.  Shepherd.  Bulletin 
No.  92,  South  Dakota  Experiment  Station. 

The  Relation  of  Irrigation  to  Dry-farming.  El- 
wood  Mead.  Yearbook,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture for  1905,  page  423. 


APPENDIX   A  419 

Arid-farming  in  Utah :  First  Report  of  the  State 
Experimental  Arid  Farms.  J.  A.  Widtsoe  and  L.  A. 
Merrill.     Bulletin  No.  91,  Utah  Experiment  Station. 

1906 

Agriculture  and  Irrigation.  J.  H.  McColl,  M.  P. 
Bendigo,  Australia. 

Management  of  Soils  to  Conserve  Moisture  with 
Special  Reference  to  Semiarid  Conditions.  George 
H.  Failyer.  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  266,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

Saccharine  Sorghums  for  Forage.  C.  R.  Ball. 
Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  246,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

Arid-farming  Investigations.  W.  M.  Jardine. 
Bulletin  100,  Utah  Experiment  Station. 

Macaroni  or  Durum  Wheats.  J.  H.  Shepherd. 
Bulletin  99,  South  Dakota  Experiment  Station. 

1907 

Dry  Land  Farming  in  the  Great  Plains  Area. 
E.  C.  Chilcott.  Yearbook,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  1907,  page  451. 

Dry-farming  in  the  Great  Basin.  C.  S.  Scofield. 
Bulletin  103,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

Dry-farming  in  New  Mexico.  J.  J.  Vernon. 
Bulletin  No.  61,  New  Mexico  Experiment  Station. 

The  Culture  and  Uses  of  Brome  Grass.  R.  A. 
Oakley.  Bulletin  111,  Part  V,  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


420  APPENDIX   A 

Farm  Practice  in  the  Columbia  Basin  Uplands. 
Byron  Hunter.  Farmers'  Bulletin  295,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

Dry-farming  in  Montana.  F.  B.  Linfield  and 
Alfred  Atkinson.  Bulletin  No.  63,  Montana  Experi- 
ment Station. 

First  Annual  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Demonstration  Farms  for  North  Dakota.  North 
Dakota  Experiment  Station. 

Campbell's  1907  Soil  Culture  Manual.  H.  W. 
Campbell,  Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

Proceedings  of  the  First  Dry-farming  Congress, 
Denver,  Colorado. 

Evaporation  Losses  in  Irrigation  and  Water 
Requirements  of  Crops.  S.  Fortier.  Bulletin  177, 
Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

Cement  Pipe  for  Small  Irrigating  Systems.  G.  E. 
P.  Smith.     Bulletin  do,  Arizona  Experiment  Station. 

1908 

Dry-farming  in  Idaho.  Elias  Nelson.  Bulletin 
No.  62,  Idaho  Experiment  Station. 

How  to  Make  Dry-farming  Pay :  Being  the  Re- 
sults of  Forty  Years  of  Successful  Arid  Land  Culti- 
vation in  Utah.     George  L.  Farrell,  Logan,  Utah. 

Milling  Qualities  of  Wheat.  R.  Stewart  and  J.  E. 
Greaves.     Bulletin  103,  Utah  Experiment  Station. 

Milo  as  a  Dry  Land  Grain  Crop.  C.  R.  Ball  and 
A.  H.  Leidigh.  Farmers'  Bulletin  322,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 


APPENDIX  A  421 

Dry  Land  Grains.  W.  M.  Jardine.  Circular 
No.  12,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

Dry-farm  Investigations  in  Montana.  A.  Atkin- 
son and  J.  B,  Nelson.  Bulletin  74,  Montana  Experi- 
ment Station. 

The  Storage  of  Winter  Precipitation  in  Soils. 
J.  A.  Widtsoe,  Bulletin  No.  104,  Utah  Experiment 
Station. 

Dry  Land  Farming  and  Kindred  Topics.  F.  S. 
Cooley.  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  1,  Montana  Agri- 
cultural College. 

Notes  on  Dry-farming.  W.  M.  Jardine.  Cir- 
cular No.  10,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Demonstration  Farms  for  North  Dakota.  North 
Dakota  Experiment  Station. 

The  Plains  :  Some  Press  Bulletins.  Bulletin  123, 
Colorado  Experiment  Station. 

Dry  Land  Olive  Culture  in  Northern  Africa. 
T.  H.  Kearney.  Bulletin  125,  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Report  of  the  Second  Dry-farming  Congress,  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah. 

Dry  Land  Agriculture  :  Papers  Read  at  the  Second 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Cooperative  Experiment 
Association  of  the  Great  Plains  Area.  Bulletin  130, 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

Report  on  Dry-farming  in  America.  W.  Straw- 
bridge,  I.  S.  0.,  Adelaide,  South  Australia. 


422  APPENDIX   A 

1909 

The  Influence  of  Depth  of  Cultivation  Upon  Soil 
Bacteria  and  Their  Activities.  W.  E.  King  and 
C.  J.  T.  Doryland.  Bulletin  161,  Kansas  Experiment 
Station. 

Tests  of  Pumping  Plants  in  New  Mexico.  B.  P. 
Fleming  and  J.  B.  Stoneking.  Bulletin  73,  New 
Mexico  Experiment  Station. 

On  the  Relation  of  Active  Legumes  to  the  Soil 
Nitrogen  of  Nebraska  Prairies.  F.  J.  Alway  and 
R.  M.  Pickney.  The  Journal  of  Industrial  and 
Engineering  Chemistry,  November,  1909,  page  771. 

Tillage  and  Its  Relation  to  Soil  Moisture.  C.  C. 
Thorn.  Popular  Bulletin  No.  22,  Washington 
Experiment  Station. 

Methods  of  Tillage  for  Dry-farming.  G.  Sever- 
ance. Popular  Bulletin  No.  15,  Washington  Experi- 
ment Station. 

Dry-farming  in  Wyoming.  V.  T.  Cooke.  State 
Dry-farming  Commission,  Cheyenne,  Wyoming. 

Dry-farming  in  Wyoming.  J.  D.  Towar.  Bulle- 
tin No.  80,  Wyoming  Experiment  Station. 

Report  of  the  Third  Dry-farming  Congress,  Chey- 
enne, Wyoming. 

Alfalfa  in  Cultivated  Rows  for  Seed  Production  in 
Semiarid  Regions.  C.  J.  Brand  and  J.  M.  West- 
gate,  Circular  No.  24,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Factors  Influencing  Evaporation  and  Transpira- 
tion. J.  A.  Widtsoe.  Bulletin  105,  Utah  Experi- 
ment Station. 


APPENDIX   A  423 

A  Study  of  the  Production  and  Movement  of 
Nitric  Nitrogen  in  an  Irrigated  Soil.  R.  Stewart 
and  J.  E.  Greaves.  Bulletin  106,  Utah  Experiment 
Station. 

Dry-farming :  Report  of  the  Proceedings  at  the 
Third  Dry-farming  Congress  and  further  Investiga- 
tions in  America.  Senator  J.  H.  McColl.  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office,  Australia. 

Dry-farming :  Its  Principles  and  Practice.  W. 
Macdonald.     The  Century  Company. 

1910 

Dry  Land  Farming  in  Eastern  Colorado.  H.  M. 
Cottrell.  Bulletin  145,  Colorado  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. 

Dry-farm  Practice  in  Montana.  A.  Atkinson. 
Circular  No.  3,  Montana  Experiment  Station. 

The  Fixation  of  Nitrogen  in  Some  Colorado  Soils. 
W.  P.  Headden.  Bulletin  155,  Colorado  Experi- 
ment Station. 

Drouth  Resistant  Plants  for  the  Arid  Southwest. 
J.  J.  Thornber.  Timely  Hints  for  Farmers,  No.  83, 
Arizona  Experiment  Station. 

The  Use  of  Windmills  in  Irrigation  in  the  Semi- 
arid  West.  P.  E.  Fuller,  Farmers'  Bulletin  394, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

A  Contribution  to  our  Knowledge  of  the  Nitro- 
gen Problem  under  Dry-farming.  F.  J.  Alway  and 
R.  S.  Trumbell.  Journal  of  Industrial  and  Engineer- 
ing Chemistry,  April,  1910. 

Report  of  the  Fourth  Dry-farming  Congress,  Bill- 
ings, Montana. 


424  APPENDIX   A 

Tri-Local  Experiments  on  the  Influence  of  Envi- 
ronment on  the  Composition  of  Wheat.  J.  A.  LeClerc 
and  S.  Leavitt.  Bulletin  128,  Bureau  of  Chemistry. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Fruit  Growing  for  Home  Use  in  the  Central  and 
Southern  Great  Plains.  H.  P.  Gould.  Circular 
No.  51,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

Traction  Plowing.  L.  W.  Ellis,  Bulletin  No.  170, 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

Seasonal  Nitrification  as  Influenced  by  Crops  and 
Tillage.  C.  A.  Jensen.  Bulletin  No.  173,  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Cooperative  Grain  Investigations.  Nephi  Sub- 
station. Nephi,  Utah.  Report  of  the  Years  1907 
and  1908  and  1909.     F.  D.  Farrell. 

The  Nitrogen  and  Carbon  in  the  Virgin  and 
Plowed  Soils  of  Eastern  Oregon.  C.  E.  Bradley. 
The  Journal  of  Industrial  and  Engineering  Chemis- 
try, April,  1910,  page  138. 

Storing  Moisture  in  the  Soil.  W.  W.  Burr.  Bul- 
letin No.  114,  Nebraska  Experiment  Station. 


APPENDIX  B 

THE     SMOOT-MONDELL  BILL  FOR  HOME- 
STEADING  OF  DRY-FARM  LANDS 

Section  i 

That  any  person  who  is  a  qualified  entryman  under 
the  homestead  laws  of  the  United  States  may  enter, 
by  legal  subdivisions,  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  in  the  states  of  Colorado,  Montana,  Nevada, 
Oregon,  Utah,  Washington,  and  Wyoming,  and  the 
territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  320  acres, 
or  less,  of  nonmineral,  nonirrigable,  unreserved,  and 
unappropriated  surveyed  public  lands  which  do  not 
contain  merchantable  timber,  located  in  a  reasonably 
compact  body,  and  not  over  one  and  one  half  miles 
in  extreme  length.  Provided,  that  no  lands  shall  be 
subject  to  entry  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  until 
such  lands  shall  have  been  designated  by  the  secre- 
tary of  the  interior  as  not  being  in  his  opinion  sus- 
ceptible of  irrigation  at  a  reasonable  cost  from  any 
known  source  of  water  supply. 

Section  2 

That  any  person  applying  to  enter  land  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  make  and  subscribe, 
before  proper  officials,  an  affidavit,  as  required  by 
Section  2290  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  and  in  addition 

425 


426  APPENDIX   B 

thereto  shall  make  affidavit  that  the  land  sought 
to  be  entered  is  of  the  character  described  in  Section  1 
of  this  act  and  shall  pay  the  fees  now  required  to  be 
paid  under  the  homestead  laws. 

Section    3 

That  any  homestead  entryman  of  lands  of  the 
character  herein  described,  upon  which  final  proof 
has  not  been  made,  shall  have  the  right  to  enter  pub- 
lic lands,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  con- 
tiguous to  his  former  entry  which  shall  not  exceed 
320  acres,  and  residence  and  cultivation  of  the  orig- 
inal entry  shall  be  deemed  as  residence  upon  and 
cultivation  of  the  additional  entry. 

Section  4 

That  at  the  time  of  making  final  proof,  as  pro- 
vided in  Section  2259  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  the 
entryman  under  this  act  shall,  in  addition  to  the 
proofs  and  affidavits  required  under  the  said  section, 
prove  by  two  creditable  witnesses  that  at  least  one 
eighth  of  the  area  embraced  in  this  entry  was  con- 
tinuously cultivated  to  agricultural  crops  other  than 
prairie  grasses,  beginning  with  the  second  year  of 
the  entry,  and  at  least  one  fourth  of  the  area  em- 
braced in  the  entry  was  so  continuously  cultivated 
beginning  with  the  third  year  on  the  entry. 

Section  5 

That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  held  to 
affect  the  right  of  a  qualified  entryman  to  make 


APPENDIX   B  427 

homestead  entry  in  the  states  named  in  Section  2259 
of  the  Revised  Statutes,  but  no  person  who  has 
made  entry  under  this  act  shall  be  entitled  to  make 
homestead  entry  under  the  provisions  of  said  section, 
and  no  entry  under  this  act  shall  be  commuted. 

Section  6 

That  whenever  the  secretary  of  the  interior  shall 
find  that  any  tracts  of  land,  in  the  state  of  Utah, 
subject  to  entry  under  this  act,  do  not  have  upon 
them  such  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  suitable  for 
domestic  purposes  as  would  make  continuous  resi- 
dence upon  the  land  possible,  he  may,  in  his  discre- 
tion, designate  such  tracts  of  land,  not  to  exceed  in 
the  aggregate  2,000,000  acres,  and  thereafter  they 
shall  be  subject  to  entry  under  this  act  without  the 
necessity  of  residence.  Provided,  that  in  such 
event  the  entryman  on  any  such  entry  shall  cultivate 
in  good  faith  not  less  than  one  eighth  of  the  entire 
area  of  the  entry  during  the  second  year,  one  fourth 
during  the  third  year,  and  one  half  during  fourth 
and  fifth  years  after  the  date  of  such  entry,  and  that 
after  entry,  and  until  final  proof,  the  entryman  shall 
reside  within  such  distance  of  said  land  as  will 
enable  him  successfully  to  farm  the  same  as  required 
by  this  section. 


INDEX 


Aaronsohn,  252,  253. 

Absorption,  explained,  166-170 ; 
selective,  170  ;  of  water  by  seeds, 
210. 

Africa,  present  status  of  dry-farm- 
ing in,  393. 

Air,  see  also  Soil-air;  composi- 
tion, 172,  209;  moisture  in,  46, 
103,  133,  134. 

Alberta,  deep  and  fall  plowing  in, 
195;   fallowing  in,  197. 

Alcohol,  engines  for  pumping,  342. 

Alfalfa,  sec  Lucern. 

Algeria,  durum  wheat  in,  237. 

Alkali,  furthers  evaporation,  149  ; 
soils,  66  ;  and  native  vegetation, 
80  ;   effect  on  absorption,  168. 

Alumina,  in  soils,  70. 

Alway,  95 ;    on  Saskatchewan,  407. 

Alway  and  Trumbull,  285. 

American  Indian,  dry-farmers,  353. 

Antiquity,  great  nations  of  antiquity 
in  arid  countries,  351. 

Apples,  on  dry-farm,  252. 

Area,  dry-farm  areas,  22,  27 ;  dry- 
farm  for  one  man,  301. 

Arid,  defined,  24. 

"  Arid-j 'arming, "  4. 

Arid  region,  defined  by  evapora- 
tion, 131. 

Aridity,  civilization  and,  351  ; 
determined   by  rainfall,    25. 

Arizona,  area,  26 ;  type  of  rainfall, 
39 ;  soils,  76 ;  evaporation  in, 
132;  pumping  in,  344;  eco- 
nomical use  of  water,  348 ;  mes- 
quite  tree,  251,  305;  olive  or- 
chards, 252;  milo,  246;  cacti, 
305  ;  present  status  of  dry-farm- 
ing,   388. 


Arizona  Station,  dry-farming,  369. 
Ash,  in  plants,  264,  281. 

Assimilation,  of  carbon,  171. 

Atkinson,  120,  190,  202. 

Atmosphere,  see  air. 

Auger,  for  judging  soils,  78. 

Aughey,  90. 

Australia,  dry-farm  area,  33 ;  fal- 
lowing in,  197 ;  present  status 
of  dry-farming,  393. 

Azotobacter,  in  dry-farming,  291. 

Bacteria,  and  lime,  70;  and  -nil- 
fertility,  290. 

Bailey,  74. 

Ball,  245. 

Barley,  241  ;  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  14,  15 ;  depth  of  roots, 
88  ;  amount  to  sow,  224  ;  water 
absorbed  by  seeds  of,  209; 
repeated  drying  in  germination, 
218 ;  variations  in  composition, 
271. 

Barnes  Farm,  record  of,  403. 

Basis,  theoretical  basis  of  dry-farm- 
ing, 11. 

Bean,  field,  250;  for  nitrogen,  297  ; 
water  absorbed  by  seeds  of  the, 
209. 

Bear  River  City,  first  large  dry- 
farming  trial  at,  355. 

Bibliography,  of  dry-farming,  417- 
424. 

Black  walnut,  on  dry-farms,  253. 

Blowing,  of  soils  in  Great  Plains, 
198. 

Blue  Stem  wheat,  237,  240. 

Bogdanoff,  210. 

Bonner  ill i ,  Lake,  75,  386. 

Boswell  oats,  241. 


429 


430 


INDEX 


Bradley,  284. 

Brand,  248. 

Brazil,  fallowing  in,  197 ;  present 
status  of  dry-farming,  392. 

Breaking,  virgin  land,  305. 

Breathing-pores,  see  Stomata. 

Breeding,  of  dry-farm  crops,  233. 

British  Columbia,  present  status 
of  dry -farming,  385. 

Broadcasting,  225  ;  no  place  in  dry- 
farming,  317. 

Brooks,  Governor,  president  Dry- 
Farming  Congress,  376. 

Broom  corn,  245. 

Buckingham,  139,  149. 

Buckwheat,  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  14  ;    in  rotations,  299. 

Buergcrstein,  180. 

Bulbs,  on  dry  farms,  254. 

Burbank  potatoes,  254. 

Burns,  John  T.,  secretary  Dry- 
farming  Congress,  378. 

Burr,  115,  122. 

Burt  oats,  241. 

Cache  valley,  beginnings  of  dry- 
farming  in,  356. 

Cactus,  on  dry-farm  lands,  305. 

Calcium  sulphate,  in  arid  soils,  77. 

California,  area,  26 ;  type  of  rain- 
fall, 39 ;  soils,  75,  77 ;  soil-fer- 
tility question,  383 ;  evapora- 
tion, 132 ;  climate  and  plant 
composition,  272  ;  evaporation  re- 
duced by  cultivation,  155  ;  depth 
of  roots,  91 ;  fall  planting,  215  ; 
fallowing,  196 ;  pumping  plants, 
341;  cost  of  pumping,  344; 
wheats,  240;  field  peas,  249; 
water  in  crops  from,  264 ;  be- 
ginnings of  dry-farming,  193, 
357,  359 ;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming,  383,  386. 

Campbell,  H.  W.,  work  for  dry- 
farming,  361  ;  method  summa- 
rized, 363 ;  "  a  voice  in  the 
wilderness,"     365;     adoption    of 


fallowing,  194 ;  cultivation  be- 
tween rows,  163 ;  subsurface 
packer,  316. 

Canada,  see  also  Alberta,  Saskatch- 
ewan; and  Crimean  wheat, 
238 ;  continuous  record  of  In- 
dian Head  farm,  406 ;  record  of 
Motherwell  farm,  410 ;  present 
status  of  dry-farming,  391. 

Canal,  irrigation  canal,  source  of 
water,  333. 

Capillary  soil-water,  see  also  *Soi7- 
water:  soil-water,  106;  thickness 
of  film,  108;  alone  of  use  to  plants, 
143  ;  evaporation  of,  137. 

Carbon,  amount  in  plants,  171 ; 
assimilation  of,  171. 

Carbon  dioxid,  in  soil  formation, 
54 ;    absorption  by  leaves,  172. 

Carleton,  237,  261,  270,  271. 

Carob  tree,  on  dry-farms,  252 ; 
yields,  253. 

Cascades,  description,  36. 

Catalpa,  on  dry-farms,  253. 

Catholic  fathers,  and  early  dry- 
farming,  353. 

Cedar,  80,  253,  305  ;  in  Great  Basin, 
251. 

Cereals,  see  Wheat,  Oats,  Barley, 
Rye,  Grain. 

Chemical  agencies  in  soil  forma- 
tion, 54. 

Cherries,  on  dry -farm,  252. 

Cherson  Station,  370. 

Cheyenne  Wells,  Colo.,  substation, 
366. 

Chihuahua,  dry-farming  in,  by 
Indians,  353. 

Chilcott,  200,  298;  appointed  dry- 
farm  expert,  373. 

Chile,  durum  wheat  in,  237. 

China,  dry-farming  in,  353 ;  fall 
plowing,  195;  present  status  of 
dry-farming  in,  397. 

Chinese  date,  on  dry-farms,  252. 

Cistern,  for  water,  336. 

Civilization,  and  arid  soils,  73,  351. 


INDEX 


431 


Clay,  from  combined  silica ;  in 
soils,  56 ;  and  climate,  57 ;  and 
hardpan,  64 ;  and  native  vege- 
tation, 80  ;  soils  defined,  57  ;  in 
soil  classification,  57 ;  depth  of 
planting  in,  221 ;  soils  respond 
to  cultivation,  157. 

Clearing,  machinery  for  clearing 
land,  302. 

Climate,  climate  features  of  dry-farm 
area,  35 ;  summary  of  climate  in 
dry-farm  territory,  48  ;  does  not 
change,  400 ;  and  proportion  of 
plant  parts,  261. 

Clover,  pounds  water  for  one  pound, 
15 ;  taproot  of,  83  ;  for  nitrogen, 
297. 

Coal,  for  steam  pumps,  342. 

Colorado,  area,  26 ;  type  of  rainfall 
over,  40  ;  soils  of,  74,  76  ;  nitrogen 
in  Colorado  soils,  286 ;  deep  and 
fall  plowing  in,  195 ;  fallowing 
in,  197  ;  field  peas  in,  249  ;  milo 
in,  246 ;  dry-farm  orchard  in, 
252 ;  pumping  plants  in,  342 ; 
first  Dry-Farming  Congress  held 
in  Denver,  374 ;  present  status 
of  dry-farming  in,  389. 

Colorado  Basin,  soil  district,  76 ; 
status  of  dry-farming  in,  388. 

Colorado,  Canon  of,  description,  35. 

Colorado  Station,  first  experiments 
on  dry-farming,  366. 

Columbia  Basin,  description,  36 ; 
soil  districts,  74  ;  use  of  roller  in, 
315;  weeder  used  in,  314;  be- 
ginnings of  dry-farming  in,  357  ; 
an  originator  of  dry-farming, 
193  ;  present  status  of  dry-farm- 
ing in,  384. 

Commercial  fertilizers,  and  dry- 
farming,  296. 

Composition,  chemical  composition 
of  arid  and  humid  .soils,  68 ;  of 
crops,  257-277 ;  young  plants 
rich  in  protein,  274 ;  commer- 
cial value  of  superior  quality  of 


dry-farm  crops,  278;  variations 
due  to  climate,  271-274  ;  varies 
with  water  supply,  267-271  ;  a 
reason  for  variation  in,  274-275  ; 
causes  of  variations  in,  267. 

Continuous  cropping,  dangerous, 
203. 

Cooke,  369. 

Corn,  243 ;  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  15,  16 ;  depth  of  root 
penetration,  86,  87 ;  root  sys- 
tem, 83 ;  water  absorbed  by 
seeds  of,  209 ;  repeated  drying 
in  germination,  218;  amount  to 
sow,  224 ;  mechanical  planters, 
320;  harvesters  for,  321  ;  varia- 
tion in  composition,  267 ;  im- 
portance of  humus  for,  297 ; 
water  and  yield,  346. 

Cracked  land,  danger  of,  141. 

Crimean  wheat,  238. 

Crop,  see  also  Plant;  for  dry-farm- 
ing, 232  ;  for  irrigation  and  dry- 
farming,  256 ;  varieties,  234 
condition  of  good  dry-farm,  234 
adaptation  of,  232 ;  care  of,  226 
harrowing  of,  162;  not  on  fallow 
land,  124 ;  composition  of  dry- 
farm,  257  ;  nutritive  substances 
in,  264 ;  from  dry-farms  highly 
nutritious,  275 ;  water  in  dry- 
farm,  262 ;  yield  varies  with 
water  applied,  345 ;  producing 
power  of  rainfall,  18 ;  soil- 
water  necessary  to  mature,  118; 
effect  on  transpiration,  178 ;  to 
prevent  soil  blowing,  198  ;  special- 
izing in  dry-farm,  279  ;  problems, 
256. 

Cultivation,  see  also  Tillage;  saves 
moisture,  152-156 ;  experiments 
showing  value  of  cultivation  in 
reducing  evaporation,  154-155; 
increases  depth  of  soil-water,  116  ; 
effect  on  transpiration,  187  ;  and 
humus,  198 ;  and  root  systems, 
92 ;    time   of,    158 ;     after   rains, 


432 


INDEX 


162;  early  in  spring,  159,  160; 
during  season,  160 ;  depth  of. 
157;  must  destroy  weeds,  162; 
of  growing  crops.  163  :  of  rows 
of  lueern,  248;  of  fall-sown  crop 
in  spring,  159;  between  rows 
of  plants,  163 ;  implements  for 
soil  cultivation,  310. 

Cultivators.  314. 

Currants,  on  dry-farms,  253. 

Dakotas,  soils  of.  74 ;  type  of  rain- 
fall over,  40 ;  wheats  for,  236 ; 
milo  in,    24o. 

Davidson  and  Chase,  307. 

Defiance  wheat,  240. 

Desert,  essentially  fertile.  58,  72.  73. 

Disk  harrow,  311.  313. 

Disking,  414;  after  harvester.  127: 
after  fall  plowing,  129;  fall- 
plowed  land  in  spring,  129,  159; 
to  reduce  run-off,  98  ;  crop  in  fall, 
226  :    crop  in  spring,  227. 

Dog  Valley,  state  well  in.  341. 

Drainage,  plant  food  in  drainage 
water.  65  :   in  arid  countries,  66. 

Drill,  invented  by  Tull.  226,  317; 
types  for  sowing,  318. 

Drill  culture,  225 ;  and  snow  con- 
servations, 225. 

Drouth,  defined,  49,  400,  402.  412: 
how  to  farm  against.  416;  year 
of  drouth.  399  ;  year  of  drouth 
disproved.  403-412;  fallow  in- 
dispensable in  year  of,  203 ;  of 
1910,  411. 

Dry-farming,  defined,  1  ;  a  mis- 
nomer, 2  ;  a  technical  term,  4  ; 
rs.  humid-farming,  4 ;  fun- 
damental problems.  6,  9  ;  theo- 
retical basis  of,  11;  climatic 
features  of  areas,  35 ;  physical 
features  of  territory  in  United 
States.  35 :  areas  in  United 
States.  25-32 ;  areas  in  world, 
32-34  ;  soils,  50-SO  ;  three  main 
conditions,    192 ;   water  the  crit- 


ical element  in,  203 ;  and  ma- 
chinery. 302.  327  ;  crops  for.  232  ; 
certainty  of  crop  yield.  204; 
importance  of  >teady  productive 
power.  293 :  and  irrigation  go  hand 
in  hand.  350 ;  total  area  in 
United  States,  27 ;  originated 
in  several  places.  193;  - 
same  in  divers  localities,  194  ; 
in  a  nutshell.  413. 

Dry-farm,  size  of  a  dry-farm,  301. 

Dry-farmer,  temperamental  char- 
acteristics, 330  ;  acreage  for  one 
man,  301. 

Dry-farming  Congress,  organization 
and  history.  374 ;  opinions  on 
cultural  methods,  194. 

"  Dry-land  agriculture,"  4. 

Dry  matter,  and  transpiration,  182- 
186;  methods  for  determining 
water  for.  12;  water  for  one 
pound  of,  12;  water  cost  in 
arid  countries,   17. 

Durra,  245. 

Durum  wheat,  237. 

Ebermayer,  150,  155. 

Egypt,  sands  of  Egypt  fertile,  58. 

Electricity,  electric  motors,  322,  325  ; 

for  pumping,  342. 
Elm,  on  dry-farms,  253. 
Emmer,  243. 

Engines,  in  dry-farming,  321. 
England,    Boswell   oats   from,    241  ; 

steam  plowing  in,  323. 

Esrohnr,  244. 

148. 

Europe,  steam  plowing  in,  323. 

Evaporation,  formation  of  water 
vapor.  132 ;  factors  increasing, 
133,  136:  effect  of  temperature 
on  water  vapor.  133  ;  from  free 
water  surface.  132  ;  and  relative 
humidity.  46 ;  measure  of  arid- 
ity. 131;  under  humid  and  arid 
conditions,  149 ;  possible  evap- 
oration   in    arid    districts,     131 ; 


INDEX 


433 


at  various  localities,  132;  of 
capillary  water,  137 ;  loss  of 
soil- water  by,  165 ;  causes  of 
evaporation  of  soil-moisture,  160  ; 
conditions  of  evaporation  from 
soils,  136 ;  in  cloudy  weather, 
150;  promoted  by  winds,  L35; 
furthered  by  alkali,  149 ;  in 
fall  and  winter,  133 ;  chiefly 
at  surface,  139-141 ;  regulating, 
130 ;  dry  soils  prevent,  148 ; 
effect  of  rapid  top  drying  of  soils, 
147-152;  reduced  by  mulches, 
155 ;  cultivation  reduces,  152- 
156  ;  fall  plowing  prevents,  127  ; 
a  cause  of  transpiration,  174. 
Experiment  Stations,  work  for  dry- 
farming,  365,  371. 

Fall,  evaporation  in,  134. 

Fallow,  see  also  Cultivation. 

Fallowing,  122-125,  413,  414; 
beneficial  effects  of,  188 ;  di- 
minishes evaporation,  138 ;  effect 
on  transpiration,  188 ;  to  vary 
with  climate,  125,  202,  203; 
in  soil  formation,  55 ;  cause  of 
failure  of  fallow  experiments,  124  ; 
right  kind  of,  124;  frequency  of, 
125 ;  in  all  dry-farm  districts, 
194  ;  hoed  crops  in  place  of,  200  ; 
and  plowing,  193  ;  and  seed-bed, 
212  ;  and  amount  to  sow,  223  ; 
and  fall  planting,  200,  218;  and 
crops,  124  ;  danger  of  weeds  on, 
124,  162;  in  rotations,  299; 
discussed  by  Dry-farming  Con- 
gress, 195 ;  when  adopted  by 
Campbell,  364 ;  beginning  of, 
in  Columbia  Basin,  357 ;  in 
various  states,  196,  197 ;  re- 
sults on  Barnes  farm,  405  ;  occa- 
sional, in  Great  Plains,  119; 
results  at  Montana  Station,  202  ; 
Indian  Head  record,  408,  410  ;  in 
Saskatchewan,  202. 

Farrell,  98,  215,  216. 

2f 


Farrell,    Geo.    L.,    early  dry-farmer 

in  Utah,  355. 
Fertility,   see    also    Plant-food,    Soil 

Fertility. 
Fertilizers,    effect   on    transpiration. 

182,  L86. 
Fescue   grass,    transpiration    figures 

for,   185. 
Field  bean,  250. 
Field  pea,  249. 
Fig,  on  dry  farms,  252. 
Fir,  on  dry-farms,  253. 
Fleming  and  Staulking,  343. 
Flood  water,  as    source    of    perma- 
nent supply,  334. 
Flour,  nutritive  value  of  dry-farm, 

276. 
Foise  wheal,  240. 
Forbes,  348. 

Fortier,  1.",:,,  158,  341,  312,  ■'><><.). 
Foster,  369. 

France,  olive  industry  in  Tunis,  '_'."»_'. 
Frost,  and  fall  planting,  216;    and 

method  of  sowing,  225. 
Fruit,   dry-farm  orchards  in   Great 

Plains,  252  ;    on  irrigated  farms, 

236. 
Fuller,  338. 
Furrow,    drill    furrow    and    sowing, 

225. 

Garden,  preparation  on  a  dry-farm, 
347. 

Gardner,  185. 

Gasoline,  engines  for  pumping,  342  ; 
machinery  in  dry-farming,  322, 
325. 

Germany,  emmer  in,  243 ;  first 
determinations  of  water  vs.  plant 
production  in,  12  ;  steam  plowing 
in,  323  ;  water  absorption  by 
seeds  in,  209. 

Germ  lift ,  effect  of  pore-space  on, 
102. 

Germination,  see  also  Sowing;  con- 
ditions of,  205;  mechanism  of, 
208;    effected   by   soil   moisture, 


434 


INDEX 


209 ;  best  amount  of  water  for, 
210;  effect  of  nitrates  on,  210; 
effect  of  incomplete,  217;  and 
drill  culture,  226. 

Glaciers,  in  soil  formation,  53. 

Goodale,  206. 

Gooseberries,  on  dry-farms,  253. 

Grace,  301. 

Grain,  root  system,  S3  ;  relation  of 
roots  to,  216 ;  ratio  of  straw 
and  grain,  18 ;  ratio  to  straw 
and  climate,  261  ;  cultivating 
grain  between  rows,  163. 

Granites,  and  clay  soils,  57. 

Grapes,  on  dry-farms,  253,  386. 

Grasses,  root  system,  83  ;  depth  of 
roots,  88. 

Gravel,  effect  of  gravel  seams,  62. 

Gravitational  soil-water,  104. 

Greasewood,  80. 

Great  Basin,  description,  35;  geo- 
logical history  of,  75  ;  soils  dis- 
trict of,  75 ;  lime  in  soils  of,  70  ; 
hygroscopic  moisture  in  soils  of, 
103;  depth  of  soil-water,  112; 
cedars  in,  251  ;  fall  sowing  in, 
215 ;  grapes  in,  253 ;  water  in 
crops  from,  264  ;  present  status 
of  dry-farming   in,    386. 

Great  Plains,  description,  35 ;  soil, 
74 ;  blowing  of  soils  in,  198 ; 
conditions  of  water  storage  in 
soils,  115;  water  storage  in  soils 
of,  122 ;  one  difficulty  of  soil- 
water  storage,  134 ;  fall  plowing 
in,  195;  spring  plowing  in,  129: 
cultivation  in,  162 ;  and  the 
fallow,  119,  197-202;  sowing  in, 
215  ;  and  Crimean  wheats,  238  ; 
dry-farm  orchards  in,  252  ;  rota- 
tions of  crops  in,  298 ;  water  in 
crops  from,  264 ;  an  originator 
of  dry-farming,  193  ;  first  scien- 
tific work  on  dry-farming,  367  ; 
beginnings  of  dry-farming  in, 
358 ;  originated  dry -farming 
independently,  359 ;    Campbell's 


work  for,  362 ;  reason  for  dry- 
farm   failures,    358. 

Great  Salt  Lake,  75 ;  entrance  to, 
354. 

Greaves,  Stewart  and,  190,  263. 

Green  manuring,  297. 

Growth,  and  transpiration,  183. 

Gutters,  roof  gutters  source  of  water 
supply,  336. 

Gypsum,  effect  on  soil  structure, 
102. 

Hall,  261,  271,  291. 

Hardpan,  definition  and  kinds, 
62. 

Harris,  Fisher,  president  Dry- 
farming  Congress,  376. 

Harrowing,  see  also  Cultivation  ;  the 
dry -farm,  414 ;  use  of  harrow 
for  various  purposes,  310 ;  use 
of  disk  harrow,  311;  smoothing 
harrow,  310;  after  plowing,  129; 
on  growing  crops,  227 ;  crops  in 
spring,  160. 

Harvester,  combined  harvester  and 
thresher,  230,  321. 

Harvesting,  228-231 ;  soil-water  at, 
117;    implements  for,  320. 

Hay,  water  in,  262  ;  nutritive  value, 
275. 

Headden,  286. 

Header,  see  also  Straw,  Stubble;  use 
on  dry-farms,  228,  321 ;  stubble, 
value  in  shading,  151 ;  value  of 
header  stubble  in  transpiration, 
191 ;    and  soil  fertility,  289. 

Hellriegel,  12,  184. 

Henderson,  369. 

Henry,  25,  38,  45. 

High  Plateaus,  76. 

Hilgard,  51,  61,  68,  73,  77,  90,  351, 
357. 

History  of  Dry-farming,  351-381  ; 
Jethro  Tull  and  dry-farming,  378  ; 
dry-farming  originated  independ- 
ently in  four  sections,  359 ; 
methods   originated   alike   in   all 


INDEX 


435 


districts,  360 ;  beginnings  of 
dry-farming  in  California,  357 ; 
Campbell's  work,  361  ;  begin- 
nings of  dry-farming  in  Colum- 
bia Basin,  357 ;  beginnings  of 
dry-farming  in  Great  Plains,  358  ; 
beginning  of  modern  dry-farm- 
ing in  Utah,  354  ;  railroads  and 
dry-farming,  370 ;  the  work  of 
the  experiment  stations,  365 ; 
the  Dry-farming  Congress,  374  ; 
work  by  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  for  dry- 
farming,  372 ;  present  status  in 
California,  383  ;  present  status  in 
Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  ba- 
sins, 388 ;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming  in  Columbia  Basin,  384  ; 
present  status  of  dry-farming, 
382-398  ;  status  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, 391 ;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming  in  Great  Basin,  386 ; 
status  in  Great  Plains,  389 ; 
status  in  Mountain   States,  389. 

Hoed  crops,  in  place  of  fallowing, 
200  ;    in  rotations,  299. 

Hoeing,  possible  hand  hoeing,  141. 

Hogenson,  313. 

Holland,  variation  in  plant  compo- 
sition in  Holland,  269. 

Homestead  Bill,  the  Smoot-Mondell, 
for  dry-farms,  425. 

Homesteads,  on  dry-farms,  332,  416. 

Hopkins,  185. 

Horsebeans,  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  14. 

Hosceus,  84. 

Humid,  defined,  24. 

Humid-farming,  defined,  1 ,  4 ; 
vs.  dry-farming,  4. 

Humidity,  see  Relative  Humidity. 

Humus,  in  soils,  58 ;  nitrogen  in, 
59,  71 ;  and  fallowing,  198 ;  and 
green  manuring,  297  ;  and  header 
stubble,  198  ;   and  lime,  70. 

Hunt,  225. 

Hygroscopic  moisture,  102,  137. 

2p 


Idaho,  area,  26  ;  soils  of,  75  ;  evap- 
oration in,  132;  fallowing  in, 
197;  milo  in,  246;  wheats  in, 
240;  present  status  of  dry-fann- 
ing, 385,  386,  389. 

Idaho  Station,  dry-farming  in,  369. 

Illinois,  water  needs  of  crops  on 
soils  of,  185. 

Implements,  see  Machinery,  Engiru  a ; 
for  dry-farming,  301-327  ;  for  a 
dry-farm,  327  ;  steam  and  other 
motive  power,  321. 

India,  sands  of  India  fertile,  58; 
field-water  capacity  of  soils,  1 10; 
pumping  plants  in,  341  ;  dry- 
farming,  353. 

Indian,  corn  grown  by  American, 
244. 

Indian  Head,  see  also  Saskaich- 
ewan. 

Indian  Head  farm,  longest  record 
in  Great    Plains,    359,    406. 

Indian  Head  Station,  dry-farming 
in,  370. 

Insoluble  residue,  in  soils,  68. 

Irrigation,  see  also  Water;  and  dry- 
farming,  328-350;  indispensable 
in  arid  regions,  331  ;  supple- 
mentary only  to  natural  precipi- 
tation, 345;  and  plant  growth, 
261 ;  development  of  roots  under, 
90 ;  economy  in  small  applica- 
tions, 346 ;  case  of  economical 
irrigation  in  Arizona,  348 ;  use 
of  little  water  in,  344 ;  advan- 
tages of,  329 ;  why  mostly  prac- 
ticed in  antiquity,  352. 

Jardine,  200,  236,  240. 

Jensen,  190. 

Jerusalem  corn,  245. 

Johnson,  154. 

Jujube  tree,  on  dry-farms,  252. 

Kafir  corn,  245. 

Kansas,  area,  27 ;  type  of  rainfall 
over,   40 ;    soils  of,   74 ;     climate 


436 


INDEX 


and   plant    composition   in,    2 
deep   and   fall   plowing   in,    195 : 
milo  in,  24.5:    moat  in  oatfl  from. 
1  :    windmill  pumping  in,  344  ; 
present  status  of  dry-farming  in,  ! 
389. 

Kansas  Station,  dry-farming  in, 
370. 

Kearney,  2.3:-!.  352. 

Kharkov  wheat,  238. 

Kherson  oats,  241. 

King,  14,  85,  123. 

Layton,  Christopher,  dry-farm  pio- 
neer, 355. 

Leaching,  of  soils,  60. 

Leaves,  proportion  of,  260,  261  ; 
work  of,  171;  stomata  in,  172; 
loss  of  water  through  leaf  sto- 
mata.  174. 

Leather,  110. 

■'■  and  Leavitt,  272. 

LeConte  and  Tait,  344. 

Leguminous  crops,  249;  and  fer- 
tility. 291;  and  nitrogen,  296; 
in  rotations,  299. 

Lentils,  water  absorbed  by  seeds  of, 
209. 

Lime,  in  soils,  69 ;  effect  on  soil 
structure,  101  ;  and  indirect 
fertilizer,  70 ;  and  humus.  70 ; 
and  hardpan.  64  ;  and  bacterial 
life  in  soil,  291. 

Linfield,  369. 

Little  Club  wheat,  240. 

Lite  stock,  and  dry-farming,  293- 
296. 

Loam,  soils  defined,  57. 

Location,  of  dry-farm.  413. 

Locust,  on  dry-farm.  253. 

Lucern  or  alfalfa,  247 ;  as  nitro- 
gen gatherer,  249,  297 ;.  depth  of 
roots,  83,  88,  90.  247:  amount 
to  sow.  224 :  water  and  yield. 
346;  seed.  24s :  water  in,  262; 
cause  of  failures,  249- 

Lyon,  74. 


>ni  icheat,  237. 

McCoU,  32.  393. 

MacDonald,  393 ;  Covcrnor,  called 
first  Dry-f arming  Conj 

MacDougall,  131,  17s. 

Machinery,  Bee  also  Implements; 
dry-farming  made  possible  by, 
302. 

Maine,  composition  of  flour  from, 
276. 

Malad  Creek,  355. 

Mammoth  potatoes,  254. 

Manuring,  see  also  Soil  Fertility; 
effect  on  transpiration,  185 ;  and 
soil  fertility,  293;  diminishes  evap- 
oration, 138;  in  rotations,  299. 

Marl,  65. 

Martin,  353. 

Mason, 

269. 

Mead,  341.  344. 

Mennonites,  and  Crimean  wheats, 
238. 

Merrill,  16.  224.  327,  368,  : 

Mesquite,   on  drv-farm  laml- 
305. 

Mexico,  dry-farming  in,  353  ;  evap- 
oration in,  132 ;  beans  in,  250 ; 
corn  in.  244 ;  present  status  of 
dry-farming  in,   391. 

Middh  Wist,  composition  of  flour 
from,  276. 

Millet,  pounds  water  for  one  pound, 
14. 

Milling  products,  nutritive  value  of 
dry-farm,  276. 

Milo,  24.5. 

Mineral  matter,  in  crops,  264. 

■<>ta,  area.  27;  soils  of.  74. 
If  tippi  Valley,  description,  35. 

Mondell,     president       Dry-farming 
Congress:  Smoot-Mondell  Home- 
I  Bill.  425. 

Montana,  area.  26:  type  of  rainfall 
over,  40 :  soils  of,  74  ;  deep  and 
fall  plowing  in,  195  ;  fallowing  in, 
196 ;     pumping    plants    in,    342 ; 


INDEX 


437 


meat  in  oats  from,  261 ;  present 
status  of  dry-farming,  385,  389  ; 
fourth  Dry-farming  Congress  in 
Billings,  377. 

Montana  Station,  dry-farm  work 
begun,  369;  on  fallowing,  202; 
water  stored  in  soil,  120. 

Mormon,  pioneers  began  reclama- 
tion of  West,  365. 

Morton,  J.  S.,  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture, 372. 

Motherwell,  record  of  dry-farm,  410. 

Mulch,  see  also  Cultivation;  value 
in  reducing  evaporation,  155 ; 
explanation  of  effect  of  mulch, 
152 ;  natural  mulch  in  arid  cli- 
mates, 149 ;  on  different  soils, 
149 ;  effect  of  varying  depth  of, 
158 ;  implements  for  making  a 
soil,  310. 

Natural  precipitation,  see  Rain  full. 

Nebraska,  area,  26  ;  type  of  rainfall 
over,  41  ;  soils  of,  74;  deep  and 
fall  plowing  in,  195;  fallowing 
in,  197 ;  storing  the  rains  in  the 
soil,  115;  water  stored  in  soils 
of,  122 ;  wheats  for,  236 ;  milo 
in,  246 ;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming,  389. 

Nessler,  139,  154. 

Nevada,  area,  26 ;  type  of  rainfall 
over,  39 ;  soils  of,  75 ;  evapora- 
tion in,  132  ;  fallowing  in,  196 ; 
present  status  of  dry-farming  in, 
386. 

Nevada  Station,  dry-farming  in, 
369. 

Newell,  32. 

New  Mexico,  area,  26;  type  <>f 
rainfall  over,  39;  soils  of,  74,  76; 
evaporation  in,  132  ;  fallowing  in, 
197;  experiments  on  pumping, 
343;  mesquite  and  cacti  on  dry- 
farm  lands,  305 ;  milo  in,  245 ; 
present  status  of  dry-farming  in, 
388,  390. 


Nitrates,  and  transpiration,  190  ; 
effect  on  germination,  210. 

Nitrogen,  in  arid  humus,  59,  71  ; 
critical  element  of  soil  fertility, 
292 ;  explanation  of  accumula- 
tion of,  292 ;  from  leguminous 
crops,  296;    from  lucern,  L'4!i. 

Nobbe,  84,  85. 

Norris,  Governor,  president  Dry- 
farming  Congress,  377. 

North  Dakota,  area,  26;  fallowing 
in,  197;  meat  in  oats  from,  261  ; 
present  status  of  dry-fanning  in, 
389. 

North  Dakota  Station,  dry-fanning 
in,  370. 

Nowoczek,  217. 

Nutrients,  see  Plant-foods ;  in  crops, 
264. 

Oak,  on  dry-farm,  253. 

Oats,  241  ;  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  14,  15;  depth  of  roots, 
88;  water  absorbed  by  seeds  of, 
209;  repeated  drying  in  germina- 
tion, 218;  amount  to  sow,  224; 
meat  in  oats,  L'til  ;  in  rotations, 
L'O'.I  ;  variation  in  composition, 
268,  269. 

Odessa  Station,  370. 

Office  of  Dry  Laud  I  /instigations, 
373. 

Ohio  potatoes,  254. 

Oil,  crude  oil  engines  for  pumping, 
342. 

Oklahoma,  area,  27;  type  of  rain- 
fall over,  40;  soils  of,  74;  milo 
in,  245;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming  in,  390. 

Olin,  ::.")7. 

Olive,  dry-farm  olive  orchards  in 
United  states.  252  :  industry  in 
Tunis,  252;  trees  in  Tunis  in 
early  days,  353;  tax  of  oil  from 
Tunis,  353. 

Oregon,  area,  26;  type  of  rainfall 
in,  39 ;  soils  of,  75;   evaporation 


438 


INDEX 


in,  132;  fertility  of  dry-farms,  284;  | 
wheats    in,    240 ;    present   status 
of  dry-farming  in.  Sb-i,  3S6. 

Oregon  Station,  dry -farming  in,  370. 

Organic  matter,  see  Humus. 

Osmosis,  process  of,  168. 

Oxygen,  in  air  and  carbon  dioxid, 
172;  in  soil  formation,  55;  in 
germination,  207. 

Pacific,  type  of  rainfall,  39. 

Packer,  subsurface,  316. 

Pagnoul,  185. 

Palestine,  present  status  of  dry- 
farming  in,  397. 

Palouse  Blue  Stem  ivheat,  240. 

Palouse  country,  385. 

Parsons,  252. 

Payne,  358,  367. 

Peach,  dry-farm  peach  orchard  in 
Utah.  251. 

Peas,  pounds  water  for  one  pound, 
14.  15,  16 ;  water  absorbed  by 
seeds  of,  209 ;  repeated  drying 
in  germination,  218  ;  for  nitrogen, 
297 ;  variations  in  composition, 
268 ;   field,  249. 

Pearl  potatoes,  254. 

Phosphoric  acid,  in  soils,  69. 

Physical  agencies,  of  soil  formation, 
52. 

Pine,  on  dry-farms.  253. 

Pinion  pine,  on  dry -farm  lands, 
305. 

Plant,  see  also  Crops;  in  soil  for- 
mation, 55  ;  carbon  in  plants.  171: 
proportions  of  plant  parts.  258  : 
movement  of  water  through 
plant,  170 ;  vigor  of  plant  and 
transpiration,  179;  effect  of  age 
transpiration,  177. 

Plant-foods,  enumeration  of.  169 ; 
total  and  available,  282  :  in  arid 
and  humid  soils,  67,  68 ;  how 
they  enter  plant,  168;  move- 
ment through  plant,  170 ;  effect 
on  transpiration,  177,  180. 


Planting,  thick  planting  and  evap- 
oration, 151. 

Plow,  for  dry-farming,  305-309; 
moldboard  type,  306 ;  disk  type, 
307;  subsoiler,  309;  need  of  better 
knowledge  for  dry-farming,  309. 

Plowing,  the  dry-farm,  413  ;  effect 
on  transpiration,  186  ;  diminishes 
evaporation,  138 ;  as  practiced  in 
various  states,  195  ;  deep  and  fall 
plowing  in  all  dry-farm  districts, 
194  ;  depth  of  plowing  in  arid  and 
humid  soils,  126 ;  deep  plowing 
in  arid  soils,  62 ;  deep  plowing 
defined,  126 ;  deep  plowing  for 
water  storage,  125-126 ;  reasons 
for  fall  plowing,  127  ;  fall  plowing 
for  water  storage,  126,  127 ;  fall 
plowing  prevents  evaporation, 
127  ;  fertility  effects  of  fall  plow- 
ing, 127  ;  time  for  fall  plowing, 
128;  disking  after  fall  plowing, 
129 ;  time  for  spring  plowing, 
128 ;  in  spring  prevents  evapo- 
ration, 159 ;  in  spring  of  fall- 
plowed  land,  159  ;  in  spring  after 
fall  plowing,  129 ;  disking  fall- 
plowed  land  in  spring,  159 ;  and 
fallowing,  193 ;  rough  land 
catches  moisture,  128;  to  in- 
crease pore-space,  102  ,  to  reduce 
run-off.  98:  wet  soils,  101,  128; 
disadvantages  of  steam  plowing, 
323. 

Plums,  on  dry-farm,  252,  253. 

Pod-bearing  crops,  249. 

Poltava  Station,  299,  370. 

Pore-space,  of  soils,  101 ;  of  gypsum 
soils,  102. 

Potash,  in  soils,  69. 

Potatoes,    254 :    depth    of   roots  of, 
88 ;     mechanical    planters,     320 
pounds  water  for  one  pound,  15 
variations   in   composition.    288 
water  and  yield.  346. 

Powell,  Major  J.  W.,  on  early  dry 
farming,  355. 


INDEX 


439 


Precipitation,  see  Rainfall. 

Problems,  of  dry-farming,  6. 

Protein,  in  plants,  266 ;  acquired 
early  by  plants,  274 ;  function 
of,  264  ;  more  protein  in  dry-farm 
crops,  269. 

Puddling,  to  be  avoided,  159. 

Pumping,  area  irrigated  from  pump- 
ing, 341 ;  crop  possibilities  of 
small  plant  in  Arizona,  348 ; 
water  for  dry-farms,  341 ;  by 
windmills,  341 ;  cost  of,  in  Ari- 
zona, 344 ;  cost  of  pumping  in 
California,  344  ;  cost  of  pumping 
in  Kansas,  344  ;  cost  of,  in  New 
Mexico,  343. 

Quality,  valuation  of  dry-farm 
crops,  257 ;  on  basis  of  water 
content,  263. 

Rabbit-brush,  80. 

Railroads,  and  dry-farming,  363, 
370. 

Rainfall,  see  also  Natural  Precipita- 
tion, Winter  Precipitation;  rec- 
ords insufficient  in  dry-farm 
territory,  28 ;  distribution  over 
earth-surface,  33 ;  types  of 
distribution,  38-40 ;  distribution 
less  important,  130  ;  in  spring  or 
summer  causes  loss  of  soil-water, 
130,  160 ;  average  does  not 
change,  400 ;  c hief  factor  in  de- 
termining aridity,  25  ;  over  one 
acre  in  pounds,  19  ;  and  native 
vegetation,  79 ;  how  disposed  of, 
97;  depth  of  penetration,  114; 
downward  movement  in  soil,  60 ; 
amount  stored  in  soils,  114-115; 
effect  of  small  rains  on  soil- 
moisture,  113;  importance  of 
moist  subsoil  in  storm,  116; 
proportion  stored  in  Great  Plains 
soils,  122  ;  amount  stored  in  Utah 
soils,  121  ;  and  plant  growth, 
261 ;    crop-producing    power    of, 


18,  20 ;  limits  for  dry-farming, 
1,  22 ;  dry-farming  with  less 
than  10  inches,  357,  385 ;  and 
amount  to  sow,  222 ;  and  fall 
sowing,  216;  irrigation  supple- 
mentary only  to,  345 ;  stored  in 
cisterns,  336. 

Reclamation  Service,  United  States, 
on  area  of  desert  land,  29. 

Record,  continuous  record  of  Barnes 
farm,  403  ;  continuous  record  of 
Indian  Head  Station,  406. 

Red  chaff  wheat,  240. 

Red  clover,  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  14. 

Red  Fife  wheat,  237. 

Red  Russian  wheat,  240. 

Relative  Humidity,  defined,  135 ; 
over  dry-farm  territory,  46 ; 
effects  of,  in  New  York  and  Salt 
Lake  City,  135 ;  influence  upon 
transpiration,  176. 

Reservoirs,  for  flood  water,  334 ; 
building,  337. 

Rio  Grande  Basin,  status  of  dry- 
farming  in,  388. 

Rocks,  crystalline  rocks  and  clay 
soils,  57. 

Rocky  Mountains,  description  of  the, 
35. 

Roller,  use  of,  on  crop,  L'l't;,  227, 
315. 

Root-hairs,  organs  of  absorption, 
167;  immersion  in  Boil-water, 
168. 

Roots,  functions  of,  81  ;  kinds  of, 
82 ;  taproot,  83 ;  fibrous.  83 : 
systems,  81 ;  extent  of.  M  ; 
weight  of,  84,  85 ;  depth  of  pene- 
tration, 86;  direction  of  develop- 
ment, 89;  development  under 
arid  conditions.  88 ;  develop- 
ment under  irrigation,  90;  sys- 
tems in  arid  vs.  humid  climates, 
<.»L'  ;  conditions  of  deep  rooting, 
93;  deep  root  systems  and  fer- 
tility, 287,  292;    and  deep  culti- 


440 


INDEX 


vation,  92  ;  and  pore-space,  102  ; 
water  taken  through  roots,  1 1  ; 
water  absorbed  by,  94 ;  their 
place  in  absorption,  166 ;  effect 
on  transpiration,  179 ;  and  fall 
planting,  214,  216;  and  depth 
of  planting,  221  ;  proportion  of, 
260,  261 ;  relation  to  straw  and 
grain,  216. 

Rosen,  299. 

Rotation,  of  crops  in  dry-farming, 
298. 

Rothamsted  Station,  on  fertility  and 
transpiration,  lb4,  271. 

Run-off,  98. 

Rural  New  Yorker  potatoes,  254. 

Russia,  stations  for  study  of  dry- 
farming,  370  ;  fallowing  in,  197  ; 
crop  rotations  in,  299  ;  emmer  in, 
243  ;  durum  wheats  from,  237  : 
home  of  Crimean  wheats,  238 : 
home  of  Red  Fife  wheat,  237 ; 
present  status  of  dry-farming  in, 
394. 

Ryt ,  L'43 ;     pounds    water    for    one 
pound,    14 ;     water   absorbed    by 
seeds  of,   209 ;     amount    I 
224. 

Sacks,  180. 

Sagebrush,  79;  clearing  land  of, 
302  ;    water  need  of,  178. 

Salisbury,  Joshua,  early  dry-farmer 
in  Utah,  355. 

Salts,  effect  on  evaporation,  138. 

Sanborn,  84. 

Sand,  in  soils,  58 ;  origin  of,  58 ; 
characteristics  of  arid  soil,  58 ; 
fertility  of  arid  soil,  58;  soil,  and 
dry-farming,  58;  ><>ils  defined, 
.".7:  Boila  respond  to  cultivation, 
157;   depth  of  planting  in,  221. 

Sanfoin,  251. 

San  Joaquin  Basin,  77. 

Sanpete  Valley,  lime  in  soils  of,  70. 

Saskatchewan,  see  also  Indian  Head ; 
fertility  of  dry-farms,  285 ;    deep 


and  fall  plowing  in,  195 ;   fallow- 
ing in,  197,  202. 

Schumacher,  84. 

"Scientific  agriculture,,,  4. 

Scofield,  163. 

Season,  short  season  in  dry-farming, 
260. 

Seed-bed,  212. 

Seeds,  germination  of,  205 ;  ab- 
sorption of  water,  209,  210; 
value  of  home-grown,  233  ;  to  be 
secured  from  arid  regions,  273, 
274  ;  size  of  seed,  224  ;  propor- 
tion of,  260,  261 ;   lucern,  248. 

Seepage,  loss  of  soil-water  by,  165. 

Sego  lily,  256. 

Semiarid,    defined,  24;    area   inter- 
ested in  dry-farming,  29. 
id-j 'arming, "  4. 

Shading,  effect  of,  150. 

Shod  scale,  80. 

Shaw,  251. 

Shepherdia,  depth  of  roots  of,  90, 
91. 

Shrubs,  for  dry-farms,  251. 

Sit  rra  Xevadas,  description  of,  36. 

Silica,  clay  from  combined,  57 ; 
sand  from  uncombined, 

Silver  poplar,  on  dry-farms,  253. 

Sixty-Day  oats,  241. 

Small  grains,  see  Wheat,  Oats, 
Barley,  Rye,  Grains. 

Smith.  344. 

Smoot-Mondell  homestead  Bill,  425. 

Snow,  drill  culture  and  snow  conser- 
vation, 225. 

Snowfall,  over  dry-farm  territory, 
42. 

Snyder,  74. 

Sail-air,  effect  of  pore-space  on, 
102;    composition  of.  L'tis. 

Soil  Culture  and  Farm  Journal, 
362. 

SoU  Fertility,  see  also  Plant-food; 
summary  of  explanations  of,  292  ; 
of  dry-farm,  415 ;  critical  ele- 
ments    of,     283 ;      nitrogen     the 


INDEX 


441 


critical  element,  292 ;  apparent 
increase  under  dry-farming,  283  ; 
accumulation  in  upper  layers, 
287 ;  stubble  and,  228 ;  reasons 
for  dry-farm  fertility,  286-292; 
effect  of  continuous  cropping, 
282 ;  maintaining  soil  fertility, 
281-300  ;  possible  equilibrium  of, 
293  ;  coming  great  question,  300; 
and  amount  to  sow,  222 ;  and 
transpiration,  183-186;  effect  on 
transpiration,  182,  191 ;  evapora- 
tion decreases  with,  138 ;  prob- 
lem in  California,  383  ;  problem 
in  Great  Basin,  387. 
Soil-water,  see  also  Water,  Capillary 
Water;  for  loss  of,  see  also  Trans- 
piration; in  virgin  soils,  112; 
why  desert  soils  contain  moisture, 
148 ;  how  rain-water  is  changed 
into,  108-110;  total  water  capac- 
ity, 104 ;  hygroscopic  moisture, 
102,  137;  capillary,  106;  field 
capacity  for  capillary,  107  ;  grav- 
itational, 104  ;  downward  move- 
ment, 111-115;  dependent  on 
pore-space,  102 ;  sinks  deeper 
with  cultivation,  116;  possible 
amount  stored  in  soils,  119 
storage  by  fallowing,  122-125 
thickness  of  film  in  per  cents,  108 
effect  of  thinning  the  film,  147 
at  harvesting,  117;  danger  of 
dry  soil,  117;  importance  of 
moist  subsoil,  116;  demonstra- 
tion that  it  may  mature  crops, 
95;  necessary  to  mature  crops, 
118;  stored  in  Great  Plains  soils, 
122;  amount  stored  in  Utah 
experiments,  121  ;  methods  of 
loss,  165 ;  manner  of  upward 
movement,  152;  how  it  reaches 
surface,  141 ;  causes  of  evapora- 
tion of,  160  ;  conditions  of  evap- 
oration from,  136 ;  evaporation 
proportioned  to,  138;  dissipated 
by  winds,    135 ;    evaporation  of 


capillary,  137 ;  effect  of  rapid 
top  drying  of  soils,  147-152 ; 
makes  independent  of  rain  distri. 
bution,  130 ;  in  spring  and  mid- 
summer, 143 ;  effect  on  absorp- 
tion, 168 ;  movement  through 
plants,  170 ;  effect  on  transpira- 
tion, 180 ;  and  amount  to  sow, 
222;  germination  and,  insuffi- 
cient, 218  ;  effect  on  germination, 
209. 
Soils,  dry-farm,  50-80  ;  importance 
in  dry-farming,  50  ;  formation  of, 
physical  agencies,  52 ;  chemical 
agencies,  54 ;  physical  constit- 
uents of,  56 ;  sizes  of  particles, 
99 ;  composition  of  humid  and 
arid,  67,  68 ;  characteristics  of 
arid  soils,  56,  71 ;  definition  and 
characteristics  of  topsoil,  59 ; 
characteristic  structure  of  arid, 
61 ;  structure  of,  99-101 ;  humus 
in  arid,  58 ;  depth  of,  in  arid 
countries,  61  ;  depth  of  dry- 
farming,  62,  78 ;  favorable  for 
dry-farming,  77 ;  pore-space  of, 
101  ;  alkali,  66 ;  blowing  of  soils 
in  Great  Plains,  198;  breaking 
soil  crust  in  spring,  227 ;  arid 
soil  deficient  in  clay,  58 ;  native 
vegetation  of  arid,  79 ;  effect  of 
kind,  on  transpiration,  187,  188; 
for  dry-farm,  413 ;  deep  soil 
needed,  140 ;  weak  and  strong, 
58 ;  physical  classification  of, 
57  ;  judging  of,  78  ;  divisions  of 
the  United  States,  74;  depth  in 
soil-water  studies,  119;  field 
capacity  for  water,  107-110; 
danger  of  cracks,  141  ;  danger  of 
low  soil-water,  117;  dry  surface 
soil  to  prevent  evaporation,  150 ; 
effect  of  rapid  top  drying,  147- 
152 ;  natural  mulch  on  different, 
149 ;  calcareous  soils  form  good 
mulch,  157  ;  civilization  and  arid, 
73. 


442 


INDEX 


Soluble  silica,  in  soils,  70. 

Sonora  wheat,  240. 

Sorauer,  12,  178,  183. 

Sorghums,  244. 

South  Dakota,  area,  26;  deep  and 
fall  plowing  in,  195. 

South  Dakota  Station,  dry-farming 
in,  370 ;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming,  389. 

Sowing,  see  also  Germination,  205- 
22s.  415;  and  seed-bed,  212; 
failures  due  to,  205  :  implements 
for  sowing.  317  ;  method  of,  225  ; 
time  of,  212  ;  in  fall,  212  ;  in  fall, 
disadvantages  of,  214;  in  fall, 
when  preferable,  215  ;  in  fall  and 
fallowing,  218 ;  in  fall  and  root 
system.  216;  in  fall,  right  time 
of,  216  ;  in  spring,  when  prefer- 
able, 215;  depth  of ,  220;  quantity 
for,  222  ;  in  various  sections,  215. 

Spalding,  17s-. 

Spring,  cultivation  in  early,  159 ; 
if  wet,  causes  loss  of  soil-water, 
160. 

Springs,  source  of  water,  334. 

Spruce,  on  dry-farms.  253. 

State  aid,  for  dry-farm  studies,  368. 

Steam,  machinery  in  dry-f arming, 
321. 

Stems,  proportion  of,  260,  261. 

Stewart.  284. 

Stewart  and  Greaves.  190.  203.  271. 

"  St.  John's  Bread,"  on  dry-farms, 
252. 

Stockbridge,  154. 

Stomata,  description,  number,  and 
function.  172-174. 

Stooling,  223. 

Storing  water,  in  soil,  94 :  depend- 
ent on  pore-space,  102 ;  by  fall 
plowing,  126;  by  deep  plowing, 
125;   in  Great  Plains  soils.  122. 

Straw,  from  dry-farms  very  nutri- 
tious, 275 :  header  straw  to 
retard  evaporation.  150 ;  header 
stubble  conserves  soil-water,  155; 


not  to  be  burned,  156 ;  ratio 
straw  to  kernels,  18 ;  ratio  to 
grain  and  climate,  261 ;  relation 
of  roots  to,  216. 

Strawbridge,  393. 

Stubble,  see  also  Header,  Straw; 
decay  of  header,  191,  230;  for 
header  and  fertility,  290  ;  header 
stubble  and  fertility,  228  ;  header 
stubble  and  humus,  198 ;  value 
of  header  stubble  in  transpira- 
tion, 191. 

Sub-humid  area,  and  dry-farming, 
29  ;    defined,  24. 

Sub-Pacific,  type  of  rainfall,  39. 

Subsoil,  characteristics  of  arid,  60 ; 
distinction  between  soil  and,  61 
importance  of  moist,  116;  may 
be  turned  up  in  arid  countries 
126;  meaning  in  arid  countries 
59. 

Subsoiling,    and   dry-farming,    126 
an     advantage     of,     141 ;      how 
accomplished,    308. 

Subsurface  packer,  316 ;  invented, 
362. 

Subsurface  packing,  disadvantages 
of,  364. 

Subterranean,  water,  quantitv  of, 
338. 

Sugar  beets,  on  dry-farms,  254  ;  on 
irrigated  farms,  236 ;  variation 
in  composition,  268 ;  water  and 
yield,  346. 

Summer   rains,    cause  loss   of   soil- 
water,     160;      sometimes     detri- 
.  mental,  130. 

Summer  tillage,  see  Cultivation  and 
Fallowing. 

Sunflowers,  pounds  water  for  one 
pound,  14. 

Sunlight,  effect  on  transpiration, 
177. 

Sunshine,  over  drv-farrn  territory, 
46. 

:sh  Select  o<it*.  241. 

Sycamore  fig,  on  dry-farms,  252. 


INDEX 


443 


Tarahumari  Indians,  as  dry-farm- 
ers, 353. 

Temperature,  and  soil  formation,  52  ; 
of  dry-farm  territory,  42 ;  factor 
in  transpiration,  177 ;  in  germi- 
nation, 206. 

Tennessee  Winter  barley,  242. 

Texas,  area,  27 ;  type  of  rainfall 
over,  40 ;  soils  of,  74 ;  evapora- 
tion in,  132  ;  climate  and  plant 
composition  in,  272 ;  milo  in, 
245 ;  present  status  of  dry-farm- 
ing in,  390. 

Texas  Station,  dry-farming  in,  370. 

Thames,  transpiration  in  water 
from,  180. 

Thresher,  combined  with  harvester, 
230,  321. 

Tillage,  see  Cultivation,  Mulch;  "is 
manure,"  204;  "is  moisture," 
204. 

Tilth,  good  tilth,  101. 

Tomato,  water  need  of,  178. 

Tooele  County,  Utah,  early  dry- 
farming  in,  356. 

Topography,  of  dry-farm  territory, 
35-38. 

Traction  engines,  321. 

Transpiration,  compared  with  evap- 
oration, 166 ;  value  of,  175 ; 
evap  ^ration  a  cause  of,  174 ; 
conditions  influencing,  175 ;  and 
plant-food,  180 ;  and  header 
stubble,  191 ;  effect  of  stopping, 
175 ;  for  a  pound  dry  matter, 
182  ;  loss  of  soil- water  by,  165  ; 
regulating  the,  165,  186. 

Transvaal,  fallowing  in,  197 ;  steam 
plowing  in,  323. 

Trees,  extent  of  root  development, 
91 ;    for  dry-farms,  251. 

Tschaplowitz,  183. 

Tull,  Jethro,  204,  226,  317,  362; 
life  and  works,  378. 

Tunis,  cultivating  wheat  in,  163; 
olive  industry  in,  252 ;  early 
dry-farming  in  Tunis,  352. 


Turkey,  fallowing  in,  197;  present 
status  of  dry-farming  in,  396 ; 
wheat,  238. 


United  States,  rainfall  over,  25; 
soil  divisions  of,  74. 

United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, 185,  197,  233,  237,  372, 
373. 

United  States  Weather  Bureau,  25, 
38,  372. 

Utah,  area,  26;  type  of  rainfall  in,  39; 
soils  of,  75,  76;  increase  in  fer- 
tility of,  228  ;  evaporation  in, 
132  ;  deep  and  fall  plowing  in, 
195  ;  water  storage  from  fall 
plowing,  127  ;  fallowing  in,  196  ; 
depth  of  roots  in,  90 ;  water 
absorption  by  seeds  in,  209 ; 
run-off  from  torrential  rain,  98  ; 
water  requirements  of  plants  in 
Utah,  16;  drouth  of  1910,  411; 
wells  on  Utah  deserts,  339,  340 ; 
milo  in,  246 ;  dry-farm  peach 
orchard  in,  251 ;  size  of  a  dry- 
farm  in,  301  ;  continuous  record 
of  Barnes  farm,  403 ;  composi- 
tion of  flour  from,  276 ;  origi- 
nated dry-farming,  193,  354,  359  ; 
present  status  of  dry-farming  in, 
386 ;  second  Dry-Farming  Con- 
gress in  Salt  Lake  City,  376; 
state  aid  for  dry-farm  studies, 
368. 

Utah  Station,  84,  109,  112,  120, 
124,  140,  138,  151,  155,  158, 
185,  187,  261,  267,  345,  368. 


Varieties,   see  also   Crops;  need  of 

standard  wheat,  240. 
Vegetables,  on  dry-farms,  254 ;    on 

irrigated  farms,  236. 
Vegetation,     native    vegetation    on 

arid  soils,  79. 
Vernon,  Lovett,  and  Scott,  343. 
Vetch,  251 ;  for  nitrogen,  297. 


444 


INDEX 


Vibration,    effect  on   transpiration, 

177. 
Virgin    soil,    to    lie     fallow     after 

breaking,  140. 

Wagner,  154,  155. 

Washington,  area,  26;  type  of 
rainfall  in,  39 ;  soils  of,  75 ;  fal- 
lowing in,  196 ;  wheats  in,  240 ; 
dry-farming  in.  357 ;  fifth  Dry- 
farming  Congress  in  Spokane, 
377 ;  present  status  of  dry- 
farming  in.    384. 

Washington  Station,  dry-farming  in, 
369. 

Water,  see  also  Soil-icater,  94 ;  the 
critical  element  in  dry-farming, 
1,  203,  204;  the  scarcity  of  free 
water  in  arid  districts,  331 ; 
scarcity  of  water  and  livestock, 
295 ;  sources  of,  333 ;  solvent 
action  in  soil  formation.  54 ; 
moving  water  in  soil  formation, 
52  ;  freezing  water  in  soil  forma- 
tion, 52  ;  saline  ingredients.  340  : 
sources  and  quantity  of  subter- 
ranean water.  338 ;  storing  in 
soil.  94;  surface,  evaporation 
from  free.  132 :  absorption  of 
water  by  seeds.  210;  in  germi- 
nation, 205 ;  absorbed  by  roots 
only,  94 ;  movement  of  water 
through  plant.  170  ;  rate  of  move- 
ment through  plant,  170 ;  evap- 
orated through  stomata  on  leaves, 
173;  for  one  pound  of  dry  matter, 
12 ;  in  dry-farm  crops,  262 ; 
pumping  water  for  dry-farms, 
341  :  use  of  little  water  in  irriga- 
tion, 344  ;  carried  in  pipes,  347  ; 
■  .f  economical  use  of,  in  Ari- 
zona. 34s. 
Water-table,   distance   in  arid  soils, 

105. 
Water    vapor,    formation    of,    132; 

held  in  air.  133-134. 
Waves,  in  soil  formation,  53. 


Weathering,  51 ;    depth  of,  60. 
Weeds,  cause  loss  of  soil  moisture, 
162 ;     abhorred    by    dry-farmer, 
124;      on     the     dry-farm,     414; 
disk    harrow    to     destroy,    313 ; 
Utah  weeder,  313  ;    discussed  by 
Dry-farming  Congress,  196. 
Wells,  as  source  of  water,  339. 
Wheat,   classification  for  dry-farm- 
ing,    236 ;     on    dry-farms,    234 ; 
pounds  of  water  for  one  pound, 
14,  16 :    water  absorbed  by  seeds 
of,  209  ;  repeated  drying  in  ger- 
mination,   218;    amount  to  sow, 
224  :    depth  of  roots,  88 ;    varia- 
tion in  composition,  268 ;    effect 
of  climate  on  composition.   272  ; 
composition  in  humid  and  semi- 
arid    United    States,    270,    271  ; 
water  in.   263 ;    spring  wheat  in 
rotations,    299 ;    dry-farm   wheat 
in  California.  383;    durum,  237; 
value     of    fall    sowing    of,    215; 
spring,     236 ;     semisoft     winter, 
239;      Turkey.     Kharkow,     and 
Crimean.      238;       winter,      238; 
winter  wheat   in  rotations,   299 ; 
water  and  yield,  346. 
White  Australian  wheat,  240. 
Whitman.   Marcus,   pioneer  of  Co- 
lumbia Basin,  357. 
Whitney.  112,  149. 
Wiley,  263. 

Wilson,   James,   Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture,   372. 
Wilting,      stomata     when     wilting 

occurs.    173. 
Wind,  and  winter  killing.  214;    see 
also     Blowing;      o  -er     dry-farm 
territory.  47  :    effect  on  water  in 
air.     135;      effect     in    rapid     top 
drying   of   soils,    148 ;     effect    on 
transpiration,    177;    in    soil    for- 
mation, 53. 
Windmill,    conditions    for   success, 
342;    for  pumping,  341. 
,  Winter,  evaporation  in,  134. 


INDEX 


445 


Winter-killing,  cause  of,  214;  and 
amount  to  sow,   223. 

Winter  precipitation,  amount  stored 
in  soil,  115. 

Winter  wheats,  238. 

Wisconsin,  water  requirements  of 
plants  in  Wisconsin,  15  ;  meat  in 
oats  from,  261. 

Wollny,  12. 

Woodward,  180,  183. 

World,  dry-farm  area  of  world,  32. 

Wyoming,  area,  26 ;  type  of  rain- 
fall over,  40 ;   soils  of,  74 ;   evap- 


oration in,  132 ;  deep  and  fall 
plowing  in,  195  ;  pumping  plants 
in,  342 ;  Wyoming  Station,  be- 
ginnings of  dry-farming  in,  369  ; 
third  Dry-farming  Congress  in 
Cheyenne,  376 ;  present  status 
of  dry-farming  in,  389. 


Year,  of   drouth,  399 ;    of    drouth, 

defined,  402. 
Young,  Brigham,  entrance  to  Great 

Salt  Lake  Valley,  354. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Biomedical  Libran 

DEC  1  4  1991 

Biomedical.  Library 

JAN  03  1992 

received! 


315 


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